


Something Wild

by Zags96



Category: Amar a Muerte (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Angst, Clexa, Complete, Crossover Pairings, F/F, Juliantina, Minor Crossover Pairings, Wayhaught - Freeform, Zombie Apocalypse, death of characters (not our girls through i promise), injuries, juliantina au, posie - Freeform, tw: rape mentions, tw: torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-16
Updated: 2019-04-30
Packaged: 2019-11-18 18:10:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 20
Words: 46,887
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18124724
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zags96/pseuds/Zags96
Summary: “Hey there!” A chipper voice rings out from the roof of a building to my left. “How’s it going?”“You’re kidding, right?” I yell back over the growling of the Rotters.“It’s just—” another Rotter head falls to the ground, “—fucking peachy.” I hear the interloper laugh and the sound of feet gracefully clambering down the side of the brick building. She lands beside me with a soft thud.“Valentina,” she says. “A pleasure to slay the undead with you today.”“Is now really the time for introductions?”“A good a time as any,” Valentina grins, reaching one arm over her shoulder and the other behind her back. She expertly pulls two katanas out and winks. “Besides, I like a lady to know my name before I save her life.” I’m about to scoff. The idea that this tall princess could possibly—Suddenly, Valentina’s cheery demeanor changes and she’s a dual katana wielding badass.  She peers around the corners into the main street before looking over her shoulder with a grin.“You coming, Peaches?” She says.OrThe zombie au that no one really asked for, but I'm giving it to you anyway





	1. Part I: Chapter One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This setting is 100% made up! It's not modeled off of any town, country, or area. I literally just made up names in my head and ran with it. 
> 
> Anyway, here's the zombie apocalypse au that literally no one asked for. But that a few internet friends help me out with (you know how you are! You're the best)
> 
> Enjoy!

Okay, here’s the thing. I’m normally pretty good at not getting myself into sticky situations. It’s not how I was taught, not how I was trained, and certainly not how I anticipated this little journey of mine to go. I mean, being surrounded by a hoard of flesh hungry Rotters isn’t exactly my ideal day in this post-apocalyptic world. Sure, there are plenty of them ever since some stupid scientist decided that a sketchy drug could be used in human trials when it hadn’t even been fully successful in animal testing. But, what do I know? I’m just a young adult who didn’t even get her high school diploma before the undead shit hit the fan. 

Where was I? Right, a sticky situation. Sticky meaning covered in Rotter goo and blood, backed into an alley in an unfamiliar town, with no ammo and only my machete as a weapon. Basically, I was screwed. I should’ve known better than turn a corner fully without checking for an exit. But, when you’re busy trying to escape the mutilated fingers of the undead, it’s really not something that had crossed my mind.

Panchito would be disappointed. He taught me everything I know now. 

“Where. Do you all. Keep. Coming from!” I shout, every few words emphasized with a strong swing of my machete. Their skin is pale green and basically sliding off the musculature underneath it. Torn, pink, bloody, and just vomit inducing to look at. If I hadn’t spent the last five years with Panchito and the other patrol guards fighting these Rotters, I’d be a puking mess right now.  


I finally get down to the last couple Rotters when more growling and moaning fills my ears. Another round of them coming barreling down the alley. 

“You’ve gotta be fucking kidding…” I grumble through clenched teeth. My muscles are screaming. I’ve been on the run for days. I’ve barely slept. Barely drank any water or consumed food. It was starting to take its toll. I’m almost certain I’m not going to make it out of here alive. “I’m sorry, mom, I tried to get to you,” I whispered, hoping that somehow, she would hear me. 

My swings turn sluggish. Sloppy. It won’t be long until they overwhelm me. 

“Hey there!” A chipper voice rings out from the roof of a building to my left. “How’s it going?” 

“You’re kidding, right?” I yell back over the growling of the Rotters. I swing again at the one approaching me, the blade slices its head clean off. The interloper on the roof remains silent. “It’s just—” another Rotter head falls to the ground, “—fucking peachy.” I hear the interloper laugh and the sound of feet gracefully clambering down the side of the brick building. She lands beside me with a soft thud. 

“Valentina,” she says. “A pleasure to slay the undead with you today.” 

“Is now really the time for introductions?” I say as I take another swing at the Rotters nearing me. Out of the corner of my eyes I take in the tall woman standing beside me. Legs for days. Chestnut brown hair tied neatly in a bun. Eyes shining with mischief. 

“A good a time as any,” Valentina grins, reaching one arm over her shoulder and the other behind her back. She expertly pulls two katanas out and winks. “Besides, I like a lady to know my name before I save her life.” I’m about to scoff. The idea that this tall princess could possibly—

Suddenly, Valentina’s cheery demeanor changes and she’s a dual katana wielding badass. No, like seriously. I didn’t have to move a muscle—thankfully, I can barely pick my arms up at this point. She slices cleanly through the Rotters blocking the exit to the alley. Dismembered limb and decapitated heads fall in her wake. Her katanas are covered in blood, splatters cover her already dirty clothes and face. She peers around the corners into the main street before looking over her shoulder with a grin. 

“You coming, Peaches?” I stumble out of the alley after her. Machete ready to fight whatever may be lurking further in the town. Valentina runs ahead of me, taking out the remaining Rotters before I can even lift my arm. By the time we reach the edge of the town, we’re the only moving beings around. All the Rotters in the area have either been killed or were left unaware of our presence. We stop in a quiet neighborhood. 

“Um, thanks for the assist, back there,” I say as I clean my blade on a rag I pull out of my backpack. 

“No thanks needed, Peaches.” Valentina smiles, tilting her head to the side. 

I frown. “My name isn’t Peaches." 

“You didn’t seem to want to tell me your name, so I gave you one.” 

“Why Peaches?” I ask tucking my machete into its holder attached to my belt. 

Valentina shrugs, eyeing me up and down, a smirk falling on her face. “You said you were doing peachy back there,” she points back toward the center of town. “That’s all.” 

“Right, well, thanks, Valentina, I appreciate it,” I school my expression back into one of neutrality; one I’ve worn for a long time. I shift my backpack on my shoulders and nod. “Maybe I’ll see you around.” I start to walk off, leaving her behind. I don’t get to far before I hear feet running after me. 

“So, um, where you headed?” She asks as her feet fall into step with mine. I stop. The arrogance and cocky attitude have fallen away. Instead, I’m staring at a young woman, seemingly around my age, but in these conditions, who knows. Her eyes are sadder, no lingering trace of mischief or flirtation. 

“Why do you ask?” I say monotonously. 

“Well, you see…” Valentina plays nervously with butterfly knife in her hand. My gaze is transfixed on her long fingers twirling the butterfly knife skillfully, her eyes not even looking. “I lost my family, I got separated from them.” 

“I’m sorry about that, but I travel alone.” I turn away from her and continue walking out of the town. 

“Please,” she calls weakly from behind me. “I—I really don’t want to be alone. I promise, I’ll be more help than a nuisance to you.” I frown, eyeing her skeptically. “You saw me back there. I can take a hoard down on my own. And—and I have supplies! Medical supplies. I know a few things about first-aid. Um—I have food, too. Please, Peaches, just for a little while?” 

“I’m heading north,” I say. 

“My family’s plan is to meet a few towns north of here…” she replies as she walks closer to me. 

“Only a little while," I reiterate. 

“I promise,” she holds her pinky out to me. “Just until we near my family’s camp.” I wrap my pinky around hers. “Thank you, Peaches. I mean it.” A lightness fills her eyes.  


_Were they always so blue? I think as I stare into them. Our pinky’s unlatch and I step back, clearing my throat._

“My name’s Juliana, not Peaches.” Turning my back on Valentina, I continue to exit the town. 

“Whatever you say, Peaches,” she quips. I roll my eyes. “So, what’s our plan?” 

“My plan,” I say as I pick up my pass to a jog, “is to find a safe place to sleep for a few days. I’m too exhausted to have another run in with those Rotters. I need to rest.” 

“Rotters?” Valentina laughs. 

“The undead? The nasty rotten fuckers that try to eat us?” I shake my head. “It’s what we—I call them at least. Come on, there should be a neighborhood up ahead.” My feet lead me carefully through the streets and various paths, barely a sound being made beneath my feet. Valentina, though she’s graceful, is not quite as skilled at remaining quiet at such a fast pace. I keep my hand on the handle of my machete, eyes peeled for any Rotters that may appear. Valentina, to her credit, keeps up, and doesn’t talk for the rest of the trip.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think! Criticism, comments, anything really, let me have it!


	2. Part I: Chapter Two

We run into a few Rotters in the neighborhood as we clear a few surrounding houses. I had suggested to split up to make clearing them faster, but Valentina insisted we stick together. 

“You’re exhausted,” she says. “You said so yourself. There’s no way you can hold your own against more than a few Rotters. We’re better off going together.” I begrudgingly agree knowing damn well that she’s right. The first house we clear is empty, there’s a few cans of food and medicine that could be helpful. The next house has some clean clothes, and with the impending winter, I’m in desperate need of warmer ones. Preferably clothes that aren’t riddled with holes and covered in Rotter blood. The fourth house is where we run into some problems. 

You see, I told Valentina not to go in the basement. The door was blocked shut and it seemed like whoever left this house wanted to keep whatever is behind that door, behind that door. But no. Valentina thinks she knows better. Tells me we’re better off together, and then separates herself from me to go check it out. I didn’t even realize she disappeared until I heard her yell. 

“Peaches! I could use some back up!” I race down to the basement where she’s cornered and doesn’t have the room to pull out her katanas. All she has is her little butterfly knife. “Hey, Peaches, like you were, I’m in a bit of a jam.” She chuckles nervously stabbing a Rotter in the temple. 

“For Christ’s sake,” I say pull my machete out. “Is it really an appropriate time to make bad puns?” I kick a bucket over near me, gaining the attention of the Rotters. They start to rush toward me, giving Valentina the room to get her katanas out. 

“It’s always an appropriate time for puns,” she says as she takes out the Rotters closet to her. “It’s not my fault you’re so uptight.” 

“If you haven’t noticed, we live in a world where the undead want to eat us,” I counter swinging my machete and killing the last Rotter. “I’m not going to get distracted making jokes and put my life at risk.” Valentina slides her katanas back in place and eyes me cautiously. 

“I don’t see it like that, though,” she says as we peek around the basement for supplies. “I think keeping yourself wound so tight is gonna put your life more at risk than letting loose sometimes. Sure, staying focused keeps you physically safe, but what about mentally? That’s just as important.” I close the box I’m digging through and turn to look at her. 

“Look,” I say firmly, “you have optimism and bad jokes. I have sarcasm and a very sharp machete. We survive in our own ways.” 

“But—” Valentina starts to speak but the glare I shoot her way makes her snap her mouth shut. We continue clearing the remaining houses before declaring it safe enough. I bring us back around to the house where the Rotters were hidden away in the basement. It’s the cleanest and by far the safest house we cleared. The basement had plenty of camping equipment to make sure we could cook a few meals for the next couple days. There were two rooms, and the windows and doors were already boarded up. It just made the most sense. 

I pulled the camping stove up to the kitchen where Valentina and I had placed our bags and divvied up food for the next couple days. It’s mostly beans and some canned vegetables but heating them up will definitely make it more palatable. We work quietly around each other, too afraid or annoyed to bother with talking. I may have scared her off earlier, but I don’t care. She begs to come with me. Begs to not be left alone. And then tries to tell me how to live my life in this shitty world? Nope. I’m not going to run around the apocalyptic world overrun by Rotters with rainbows shooting out of my ass and a smile on my face. What good is that gonna do me? She may be able to get through this with jokes and pick-up lines, but I’m not. I’m going to fight tooth and nail. And I’m not letting myself feel things. Enough people have been lost to know better than to let myself care. 

We sit and eat quietly. Plastic utensils scraping against the tin of the cans is the only sound filling the kitchen. Neither of us will look at each other. And I’m fine with that. Valentina promised she wouldn’t be a nuisance, but it’s starting to feel like this was a bad idea. She opened the basement like I told her not to, she questions my survival tactics, what’s next? Stab me in my sleep? 

I eye her up and down. She’s staring mindlessly into her can of beans, her plastic spoon stirring it slowly. She looks innocent enough. The least deadly looking person she has ever come across. But when Valentina whips out her katanas…I mean shit. I don’t want to fuck with that.

Valentina tucks a piece of her behind her ear, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth. She lifts her eyes up and meet mine. We’re locked in a staring match before I tear mine away first and finish my food. I pack my stuff up to get ready to leave the kitchen. Exhaustion has made my limbs heavier than ever. Without a doubt, I know I’ll be asleep as soon as my head hits my pillow. I push my chair back to leave when Valentina speaks. 

“I didn’t mean to upset you earlier,” she says quietly. “I’m sorry, Juliana. It’s hard for me to imagine surviving any of this if I didn’t remain somewhat optimistic, or cheery. Everything else is so dark, you know? You said it earlier, we all have our own ways to survive. I only joke around because if I didn’t, I don’t think I would make it through this. I almost didn’t.” I’m half-tempted to leave in the midst of her apology, until the end. 

“What—what do you mean you almost didn’t?” I ask carefully. 

“When the outbreak first happened, like, what? Five years ago?” 

“Around then,” I reply. 

“My dad was the first to get sick in my family,” she says. “He was my best friend; we were incredibly close. We didn’t know what was happening at first, you know? Before the CDC spoke out about it, we just thought he was sick. I watched him turn from the man I admired into this feral, animalistic monster. My siblings, Eva and Guille, and my step-mom, Lucia, didn’t know what to do. My dad, what was left of him really, attacked us. I didn’t know what to do, I just reacted. I—I was the one who killed him. I didn’t have a choice.” She takes a shaky breath before continuing. “We weren’t bad off, the four of us. We collectively knew enough about weapons and combat, but it was hard. I killed my dad. We were living in a world of undead trying to eat us and I was just supposed to…keep going? Fighting? What’s the point when death is inevitable, right? I started putting myself in more risky situations. Bigger hoards. Tighter spaces. If I was going to die, I might as well die swinging. It took almost dying for me to realize that I can’t live that way. I can’t survive in this world like that, because I wouldn’t. This world might be hopeless, and I’ll probably die anyway, but I want to die making the most of the life I have left. So, yes, I make jokes. And I flirt with pretty girls. And I don’t always say the right thing, I’m not losing my humanity in this shit storm.” 

“I’m sorry about your dad,” I say when she’s finished. She tucks piece of hair behind her ear and worries her bottom lip between her teeth. “Is that who you’re looking for? Eva, Guille, and Lucia?” 

“Yeah, I tried to be the hero,” she laughs bitterly. “I drew the hoard away from them, promised I’d make it back to them. We agreed to meet in Hallston.” 

“Okay,” I say. “We’ll get you there.” 

“What about you?” Valentina asks, her voice hopeful. 

“What about me?” 

“Why are you out here all alone? What’s your story?” She leans forward on her elbows and rests her chin on her hands. 

“There’s no story. I’m here and I’m taking you to Hallston, that’s it.” I’m not in the mood to share life stories and have a pity party. I don’t need that. Sharing stories and pain means getting invested, that means caring, and caring only makes things worse. It makes things harder in this world where no one makes it. Where being alive is dumb luck and good timing. 

“Come on, Peaches, at least share something with me,” Valentina grins at me. 

“Why should I ?” 

“Because, if we’re going to travel together for a little while longer, I’d like to know the person who’s supposed to have my back,” she points out. I mean, she’s not wrong. But I’m not caving that easily. 

“Who said I’d have your back?” 

“Are you always so stubborn?” 

“Are you always this annoying?” I counter with a smirk and quirk of my eyebrow. 

“To you I am,” she laughs. “Seriously, I’d like to know something so I can actually trust you. Otherwise, this whole arrangement is pointless. We’d be better off alone.” 

I want to say, “I told you so.” But I don’t. And I’m not sure why the words won’t come out like I want them to. It’s less exhausting having a partner in this. I don’t always have to be on high alert. I have someone to talk to; to keep an eye on things when I’m not at my best. Maybe Valentina is right; it’d be nice to know I can trust her to have my back. I won’t admit that to her though. 

“Long story short, my dad, Chino, went missing before the outbreak. My mom, Lupe, and I ended up living in a quarantine zone. It was shit, but they fed us and taught us how to fight and protect ourselves. My mom left one day to find my dad. Now I’m trying to find her,” I shrug. 

“Wait—” Valentina’s face is scrunched up in confusion. 

“I’m tired, I’m going to sleep,” I say finally and grab my bag. “Wake me if there’s an emergency.” I stop outside the first bedroom and look back at her. She’s sitting there staring after me, a twinkle in those blue eyes that try to suck me in like a riptide. “Don’t let there be an emergency.” 

“Goodnight, Peaches,” she grins. 

“Night, Val,” I reply with a roll of my eyes. 

I was right earlier, the moment my head hits the pillow, I’m fast asleep.


	3. Part I: Chapter Three

It would’ve been too much to ask to sleep through more than one night, right? It’s not like I haven’t been on the run, covered in blood, and exhausted to the bones. No, see, that would be too damn kind for the world to give me a break. So, when I wake up to the horrible low-pitch squeaks that Screechers emit, I know I’m not going to get any more sleep today. 

I’m out of my bed in seconds, feet falling into my boots with practiced ease. I lace my boots up tightly, snatching my machete from the floor, and strap my dagger to my thigh before popping into Valentina’s room. We’ve been here a few days. Most of which we talked rarely and slept mostly. I find her in her room curled up on her side, her hair splayed around her head like a halo on the pillow. Her arm is wrapped protectively around her pillow and her pistol sits on the bedside table. 

“Val,” I whisper, keeping my footsteps light as I approach her bed. “Valentina, wake up.” I reach my hand out to shake her awake. Her eyes fly open, her hand reaching quickly for her pistol. It’s raised in my face in a matter of seconds, ready to fire. “Whoa, easy there, killer. It’s just me.” 

“Peaches,” she says quietly lowering her gun. “If you wanted to come cuddle, all you had to do was ask.” I roll my eyes. 

“Now is so not the time,” I whisper harshly. “There’s a pack of Screechers outside the house. We need to make as little noise as possible.”

“Screechers? Honestly, Peaches, I think you’re making shit up now,” Valentina teases. “You don’t need to lie just to come share a bed with me.”

“Valentina, I’m not joking, you need to trust me,” I growl. “Screechers can’t see, they have incredible hearing, any little noise will grab their attention. And once they hear anything, they let out a high-pitched, well, screech. Calls anything undead within miles and we will be swarmed. We will die. This is not a time to flirt with me, got it?” Valentina’s eyes widen, her throat bobs as she swallows thickly, and I know she finally grasps the intensity of the situation. 

“What do we do?” She whispers shakily. 

“Get your stuff together, and your weapons ready, we need to sneak out the back,” I answer. “There’s a path at the back of the property, if we move quietly enough, we’ll get out of this alive.” Valentina nods and starts to move around quietly putting her stuff together. I head back to my room, packing up the last of my stuff before meeting her in the kitchen. She’s standing in the kitchen, back straight, head held high. Her blues eyes gazing intently out the back door. 

“What if they hear us, Juls?” She turns her head to look at me when I enter. 

“Then we run like hell.” She nods firmly. “Do not stop. Do not think. And do not wait for me. Got it?” 

“But—” 

“No, I mean it, Valentina, you cannot wait for me. And I can’t wait for you. We need to focus on ourselves right now. Protect you, and I’ll protect me,” I stare back at her. “Keep your feet light. When you hear the screech, run. Don’t stop. Just run.” I don’t give her a chance to argue. Slowly, as quietly as possible, I open the back door. It’s just before dawn breaks, the world is lightening slightly as the sun tries to rise into the sky. Everything is colored a hazy blue, the forest at the edge of the property is just a blurry outline. With practiced movements, I make my way across the backyard. I breathe evenly through my nose, keeping an eye out for branches or debris that could make any noise if stepped on. Toe to heel, shift weight, toe to heel; slowly, carefully. I don’t hear Valentina moving behind me, but I can feel her presence. The distant sound of the Screechers fills the background, but it appears that they haven’t noticed us yet. 

We’re almost to the edge of the forest. We’re so close. Until, I step a little off balance. Just enough for something in my backpack to shift; something heavy enough to make a clinking noise. The chatter of the Screechers pauses. And then…

“Valentina, run, now,” I demand. 

“I’m not—” 

“Now!” I grab her and pull her forward just as the high-pitch screeches fill the air. She doesn’t hesitate this time; she takes off in front of me, pulling her katanas from their strap as she goes. She looks back over her shoulder, “don’t worry about me! Just go!” 

Our feet crunch through the forest, my eyes and ears remain vigilant for any Rotters, Screechers, or whatever else might be lurking. There’s a thundering sound of the undead chasing after us. They can hear us for sure, now. But there’s no point in being quiet once they know we’re here.

Goddamn it, that’s what I get for packing my bag hastily. Stupid, stupid, Juliana. Panchito always told me that packing poorly was going to be the death of me. I mean, I think he meant that I was too forgetful sometimes, but this counts too. 

“Pack it tight, pack what you need, and don’t over estimate what you are capable to carry,” Panchito’s words ring out in my ears. My mom was better at it than I was. Though, I think she liked being teacher’s pet. Our community talked; Panchito had a wife and a son, but gave an odd amount of attention to my mom and I. I didn’t mind. It was nice having a father figure that actually cared about me. Why my mom went to look for Chino is beyond me. He left us. He’s probably dead. 

My foot snags on a tree root. Because, of course it does. Why wouldn’t it? 

I fall to the ground with a clatter, my machete slides out of my grasp. 

The sound of the hoard is getting closer. I try to pull myself up quickly, but it’s too late. Something grabs my ankle, and I have enough sense to kick it away. My boot makes contact with a soft skull, the head tears off and falls to the ground. The ground is covered in leaves. I can’t find anything to grab to stand up. I scramble quickly. 

“Where is it? Where is it? Where is it? Come on,” I mumble clawing through the leaves looking for my machete. “I flee my home, I get no sleep, I get stuck with a stranger, and now I’m going to die unarmed. Great. This is just—” 

“Need a hand there, Peaches?” Valentina grins with her hand out stretched to me. 

“I told you to run,” I say taking her hand anyway.

She shrugs, peering around me, “maybe I like saving your life. We better go, we have company.” I look over my shoulder, and see the hoard approaching fast. 

“My machete,” I say weakly glancing at the ground. Valentina follows my line of sight and walks forward a few paces before bending over. 

“Here,” she hands it to me. “Now, we need to leave. And try not to trip this time, Peaches, okay? There’s a split in the trail a little ways up that I saw, let’s go.” This time, we run together, matching pace and silently pointing out hazards in the trail. We head to the left of the trail when it splits. It spits us out near an abandoned building. Vines cover all the windows and doors, and it’s apparent that it was abandoned long before the outbreak even occurred. 

We don’t think twice before kicking in the door and barricading it with a heavy dresser. Valentina and I press our back against the front wall. She pulls her pistol out and gets ready to fire out the window if need be. 

It remains silent around the building. No Screechers, Rotters, or unsavory humans. Just Valentina and I. We don’t risk it though. For the next half an hour, we remain silent, keeping our breathing steady and soft. I take a minute to look around the building. It’s small, one room large room, and a door that leads to what I’m assuming is a bathroom. A bed sits in the middle of the opposite wall, covered in dust and pieces of debris from the building. There are leaves all over the place, and I have a feeling there are probably little critters running around here somewhere, but those are the least of my worries. 

After all the horror movies I’ve watched, I never thought I’d be one of those idiots that ends up in a sketchy cabin in the middle of the woods. Yet, here I am. With someone who basically counts as a stranger, in a dark empty cabin, in the woods, in a world with flesh eating undead. This is an ideal situation. I’m either going to get killed by a Rotter or Valentina’s butterfly knife that she likes to play with. 

“I think they’re gone,” Val whispers putting her pistol away and lets out an exasperated sigh. “That was—” 

“Suicidal!” I scold her standing up from the wall. “I told you to protect yourself and go on without me, why the hell would you come back for me?” 

“Are you seriously mad at me for saving your life?” Valentina fires back, dropping her backpack to the ground. I do the same. She comes up closer to me, “I could have easily left you to be eaten.”

“And that is exactly what I told you to do!” I get in her face. “You can’t keep saving me like this. You—you can’t keep risking your life for mine.”

“Why not, Juliana? Why does my life have more value than yours?” Valentina challenges me. 

“I never said that.”

“You basically did,” she says taking a step back and regarding me carefully. “Why don’t you want someone to care about your safety, Juliana? Is that such a bad thing?” I tilt my head up and pinch the bridge of my nose with between my thumb and forefinger. I take a deep breath trying to collect my thoughts. When I look at Valentina again her eyes haven’t looked away from me. They’re locked on, soft, and filled with something I can’t exactly read. 

“Because in this world we can’t risk attachment to others,” I say finally. “Everyone either leaves, or dies, or turns into one of those flesh eaters out there. There’s nothing to gain from caring, or loving, or being attached. You have to put yourself first in this world because everyone else does too.” 

“I don’t,” Valentina declares easily. 

“Good for you, but I’m not like that.” 

“I’m not asking you to care about me, Juliana,” she sighs, rubbing her face with her hands. “I’m asking you to let yourself be loved, damn it. Let yourself be cared about. Let me help you and stop being proud about it. I’m not leaving until I have to, so you’re stuck with me caring about you until then.” She doesn’t wait for me to respond. Instead, she walks over to her backpack, grabs a snack and some water and takes a seat across the room. 

I want to argue. Talk to her. Tell her that she doesn’t know me well enough to care about me. But some part of me can’t get myself to do that. Instead, I take a seat on the bed and flip through the book of maps I have in my backpack, trying to figure out exactly where we ended up and where we need to go next. 

Valentina’s words gnaw at my insides and I get the sneaking suspicious that maybe she understands me hell of a lot more than I even understand myself.


	4. Part I: Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Juliana's back finally comes out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Our bb finally lets her guard down a little

“We just need to head up 128 North and we’ll be in Hallston in about a week,” I say to Valentina as I approach her spot in the corner. She’d fallen asleep slumped against the wall after finishing her snack and I was too afraid to wake her to get her to move to the bed in my place. Eventually she woke up with a groan and a pout settled itself on her lips as she massaged the back of her neck. I took the moment to go over to her hoping maybe things have cooled down during her nap. 

“Huh?” she looks up at me, eyebrows knitted together, eyes bleary with sleep. I sit down next to her and show her the map of the area. 

“We came from this street in Jamesville,” I point to it on the map. “And we ran through this bike path. We’re somewhere in the woods outside of Woodbury, so we just need to get to the highway, and head north for a bit, and then we’ll be in Hallston.” 

“Oh, okay, awesome,” she says following my finger mapping out the route we need to take. We sit next to each other silently, the tension between us building like it had before. I know that she hasn’t forgotten our little tiff, if I can even call it that. It was more of her being upset with me for not letting her care about me? Honestly, it all seems so convoluted. I can’t stop her from caring about me. Sure, I can resist her help and push her away, that was my plan anyway. But there’s something about the way she keeps coming back to me, keeps fighting to help me. There haven’t been many people in my life that have done nearly as much for me in twenty-years than she has in the past few days. Maybe it’s just nice to know I have someone in my corner, at least for a little while longer. 

“My dad was in business with a lot of bad people,” I say quietly, and Valentina stills beside me. “There was an ever-revolving door of scumbags and gangbangers at our house. Most nights I would lock myself in my room just to avoid encountering any of them. He would disappear with them from time to time and the news would soon talk about the deaths of another politicians, gang leader, drug lord. It didn’t take long for me to piece together the fact that my dad was the one responsible for those deaths.”

“Your—your dad’s a hitman?” Valentina asks when I take a pause. 

I nod, “like I said, he was in business with bad people. My mom still loved him though, despite all of the bullshit he put us through. Police interrogations. House searches. Digging through our lives. We’d be taken hostage on more than one occasion.” Val gasps beside me. I can feel my body shaking at the memories. At the gang leaders taking me from the street and tying me up in a warehouse waiting for my dad to come save me. Little did they know he had no actual care for our lives; the only reason he showed up was because he needed the money and they were keeping it from him. I fold my hands together to diminish the shaking. “It’s fine. It’s nothing compared to the shit we’re going through now. Anyway, he disappeared with a guy, Alacran or something, before the outbreak happened. My mom was a mess. She wanted to go find him immediately, but we had no idea where he was.” 

“You don’t have to tell me this,” she says. I shake my head and continue. 

“I told you how my mom and I ended up in a quarantined zone, right?” Val nods. “Well, there was a man there, Panchito, he was a leader of a group within the Q-zone. They were the self-appointed guards of our zone. My mom and I joined when we came into the zone, and Panchito taught us everything; from the types of undead there are out there, the best ways to kill them, what to pack in your bag, and how to pack it. Panchito taught me how to walk silently, listen for Rotters, keep my boots loose and easy to tie by my bed. A year or so into the outbreak, my mom disappeared in the middle of the night. She only left me a note saying she went to find my dad.”

“Both your parents left you,” Val reiterates, “in the middle of the apocalypse.”

“Yes,” I say shifting next to her. She’s moved so she’s facing me, her legs crossed and knees bumping against my thighs. “It took me the next four years before I could follow. I stole a lot of supplies from Panchito and other guards, they weren’t happy when they found a lot of it missing. I had just snuck out of the zone when I heard the guards on patrol being called to find me. I’d been on the run for three days when you found me in that alley.”

“Juliana…” Val places her hand over mine which are clasped tightly on my lap. The contact would normally be unwelcomed, but there’s a comfort in the gesture that I’ve never experienced before. 

“Everyone leaves. They look out for themselves, they take care of themselves, and they leave. My parents weren’t the best, but I loved them. And they left me. I made friends, I cared for them, and I watched them turn into Rotters before my eyes. Everyone leaves or everyone dies,” I raise my eyes to meet hers. “Why risk the pain that comes with caring, and loving, and being attached?” Val reaches her other hand forward and tucks a piece of hair behind my ear. I want to turn away, but her hand gently holds it in place resting against my cheek. 

“Because, those things are what makes us human,” she says softly, “it’s what separates us from the Rotters.”

“I can’t lose another person, Val,” I whisper, our eyes locked. 

“And I can’t promise you won’t, but isn’t it worth feeling something good in this garbage fire of a world we’re stuck in? We spend all day and night fighting to survive, don’t we deserve to enjoy some happiness? Love? Something that makes fighting through all this bullshit actually worth it?” She pulls her hand away from my face and releases my hand. She scoots on the floor until her back is pressed against the wall and we’re both facing the same direction. 

“Okay,” I whisper into the silence of the cabin. My eyes bore into the dusty wall across the room. The sun is rising outside, and rays of light are slipping through the cracks between the boards covering the windows. I can see the dust particles drifting through the light, floating around without a care. I wonder what that’s like. To have nothing to worry about but basking the warmth of the sun; to float through life with ease; with happiness. With a family. 

I lean my head on Valentina’s shoulder and continue to watch the sun rise through the cracks. We don’t talk. We don’t move. We just exist together. She tucks her head on top of mine, our breathing slow and even. It’s the first time in a long time that I’ve allowed myself to stop moving, stop thinking, and just be; to exist in a moment without planning my next step. 

I don’t realize I’ve fallen asleep until I hear a crinkling next to my face. I open my eyes to find Valentina trying to open a granola bar. She tugs at the wrapper a few times and I can see the corner of her lips fall down into a frown from where my head stay lays on her shoulder. Reaching out my hand, I grab the granola bar from her as I lift my head up and open it with ease. She smiles sheepishly and thanks me before offering me one for myself. We both sit there with granola bars in hand and a canteen of water between us, letting the silence fill the room again. 

Val finishes her food first and stands up, brushing the dirt off her pants she smiles down at me. She offers me her hand, “we should rest, neither of us are in the shape to travel any time soon.” 

“You can take the bed,” I say ignoring her offered hand; she pulls it back. “I’ll stay here. I’m not tired right now.” 

“Come on, Peaches, you were just asleep, you’re clearly exhausted.” My gaze shifts between the singular bed and her. 

“I think you’re just trying to get me in bed with you,” I lock my gaze onto her, a small smirk tugging at my lips. 

She shrugs, mimicking my smirk. “As much as I’d like that, you need to sleep. Like you said, you’ve been on the run for days. It’s time to rest, Juls.” She offers her hand again and I take it. I’m too tired to leave for another trip to as the afternoon approaches. We barely got any rest in the past couple of days, I can’t imagine having to run from another hoard right now. Currently, our cabin is safe. We are safe. There are no sounds of shuffling or low-pitch squeaks to signal Rotters or Screechers. 

Val hoists me from the ground before letting go of my hand. My limbs feel heavy with sleep and I stumble to the bed carelessly. Panchito would scold me; “never let your guard down. In this world, people do drastic things to stay alive.” But something about Val pushes all those fears and worries away. The way her blue eyes melt the moment she's done fighting. How her body moves with practiced ease and grace while she’s wielding her katanas. The way she looks at me, not like I’m a puzzle she’s trying to piece together, but like I’m a piece of art hanging on a wall in a museum—she doesn’t fully understand it, but she finds something new to appreciate whenever she looks at it.

I lay down in the bed beside her. Our bodies a breath away. 

It doesn’t take long until my breathing evens out and darkness pulls at the edges of my brain. 

“Sweet dreams, Peaches,” she whispers into the silence. 

“You too, Val,” I mumble before slipping into sleep.


	5. Part II: Chapter Five

A few days later we’re far from the cabin in the woods, and much closer to Hallston where Val will reunite with her family. I’m trying not to be bitter honestly, from what she’s told me about them, her family is loving and takes care of each other. She raves about her brother Guille. 

“You’d love him, Peaches,” she grinned one afternoon as we walked down a strip of the highway. Cars were abandoned all over the place. Most were far too damaged to do us any good. There was blood, limbs, and the occasional Rotter roaming around, but other than that, our walk was just the two of us. “He’s kind, funny, and very handsome.” She winked at me; I rolled my eyes and ignored her. 

Then there was her sister Eva. Val didn’t say much about her. She called her a tough-bitch that cares more than she’ll let on; “like you, Juli!” 

And her step-mom, Lucia. Val is beyond grateful for Lucia and the love she has for Val, as if she were her own. After losing her dad—having to kill her dad—Val was a wreck. And despite having just lost her husband, Val told me Lucia did everything she could to protect Val and her siblings. The way she described her family, it made me wish I had a semblance of that.

Seriously? It’s like this woman hit the jackpot. She’s gorgeous, kind, and from what she’s told me about her past, ridiculously wealthy. And she has a good family? Can’t relate. 

I grew up in a seedy part of town, with a hitman for a father, and a mother too blinded by her love for him to think about my well-being until it was too late. Until we were stuck in the middle of an outbreak of the undead. Oh, and then she left me? To find him? Parenting of the year, Lupe. 

We’re a town away from Hallston at this point. Night is approaching quickly, and Val and I need to find shelter for the night. Val exits the highway before me, cautiously trotting down a hill with her katanas in her hand. A few Rotters come rushing forward and she takes them out easily. 

_God, I will never get tired of watching her move_ , I think. _Juliana. What the fuck_. I shake my head and follow after her, taking out any of the straggling Rotters coming up behind us. After spending the last week together, we’re adapted to fighting together. Val takes the front, her speed and skill with the katanas allows her to take out a bulk of the Rotters. I stay behind her, keeping an eye on her back and taking out the one’s she misses or doesn’t see. We operate like two pieces of the same machine; half the time no words are even needed to express what were thinking as we move about this apocalyptic wasteland.

One look and I know to crouch, run, go in first. One look and I know what she’s feeling. 

I watch as she kicks back one Rotter gracefully while she beheads two to her left before spinning on her heel to take out that one. She turns to look at me, grinning and covered in blood. Her eyes shine excitedly. I can tell she’s impressed with herself.

How are someone’s eyes so expressive? I can’t figure it out.

_Juliana, focus. Right. Apocalypse. Undead. Beautiful girl. Seriously? This is hopeless._

“Peaches? Anyone home?” Val is standing in front of me waving her hand in front of my eyes. 

“Hmm? Yes, I was picturing the, uh, town map,” I say blinking to clear my head. “End of the street, turn left, and then right. There’ll be a neighborhood to scope out for shelter for the night.” 

“I’m still amazed at how easily you recall those maps in your head,” Val smiles shaking her head. “Lead the way.” 

“I never lead…” 

“Mm, maybe I’d like a change of scenery. Peaches look lovely from this view.” She winks. 

“You’re insufferable,” I say turning my back toward her so she can’t see the blush creeping up my face. In my head I’m cursing my body. I mean, of fucking course it can remain calm when I have a Rotter on top of me trying to eat my face, but the moment Valentina winks at me? Nope. That’s apparently too much for my body to handle. _Note to self; Valentina has more of an effect on me than the damn undead. Cool._

Val trails behind me, no doubt watching as I take out stray Rotters here and there. We luckily haven’t run into any more Screechers since the first night, but I’m not holding my breath. Who knows what lurks this far out from where we started? I only know of those undead that exist within a certain radius around my Q-zone: Screechers and Rotters. That’s it. But so far, up north there have only been Rotters. 

The road we’re on is oddly clear of cars and debris. If I wasn’t too distracted by the feeling of Val’s eyes on me, I would have noticed that the roads weren’t really clear of objects. It’s more like the cars we’re forcibly pushed to the sides of the road by a much larger machine. Which, then, would have led me to the conclusion that we definitely should turn around because we’re not alone. But no. I was thinking about Valentina, and her long legs and slender fingers, and those ocean blue eyes, and that cocky ass smirk. So, no, I did not notice any of the signs that would have certainly clued me in to the fact that we were about to walk into a bandit camp. 

Until it was almost too late. 

See, lucky for me, when Val gets a mildly impressive kill, she will do this dorky little victory dance until another Rotter comes along. I had turned around to tell her to knock it off because it distracts me. She’s shimmying and twisting her body and kicking her legs about. Her foot hits a rock and sends it skittering past me. I heard it hit something in the road not to far ahead of me. 

And then there was an explosion. 

Time slows.

Val stops dancing. Her eyes widen and meet mine. 

_Run._

We don’t hesitate. Val and I turn on our heels desperately trying to space between us and the fire and smoke billowing around the bandit camp. We start to race back the way we came, toward the highway, away from danger. But, it’s too late. Suddenly, the air is filled with the sound of gunfire.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've decided to give a day space between each part of this book. We're starting Part II now and I just wanna say it'll get angsty. But like, not too bad?? I don't know. You tell me. 
> 
> Enjoy! I'll update this tomorrow, friday, and saturday!


	6. Part II: Chapter Six

The bullets come flying down at us from all around. Most miss, hitting the cement. Val starts weaving on the road, making it more difficult to hit her with a bullet. I copy her tactic, going the opposite way of her. The noise is bound to attract Rotters and whatever else is out here. Maybe dragons. Who the hell knows? All I know is that this amount of noise is going to garner the attention of hundreds if not more of them, and I really don’t want to be their meal today.

Up ahead, a truck comes drifting into the middle of the road. Two men stand in the truck bed, guns poised and aimed at us.

“Val!” I scream. There’s no point in being silent; there’s enough noise already. Why not add to it. I push myself to run fast and grab her arm, yanking her violently to the right.

The truck’s engine revs, tires squeal.

“Juliana, who are—” Val looks at me in a panic.

“Shut up and run!” She doesn’t need to be told twice. Especially when bullets come flying at us again as we barrel down a side street. Moans join the sounds of the bullets and the seriously beefed up truck behind us.

“Come on girlies! Don’t play hard to get!” One of the men call out to us. His voice taunting and malicious. My skin crawls at the thought of what they would do to us.

“Val, we need to—” I start to shout.

“I swear on my life, Juliana! We are not splitting up!”

“We’d be better off! They can’t follow us both!” We turn a corner and Rotters are racing toward us. We’re caught in the middle of a deranged and blood thirsty bandits and flesh-eating monsters. Great. Awesome. What a way to go, caught between two evils.

“I’m not leaving you! We are going to get out of this together,” Val says skittering to a stop. I’m scanning our surroundings for the best way out. The truck is coming closer. The Rotters are too. There isn’t much time.

Think, Juliana, think! I turn in circles trying to find a way out. A way away from this Val and Juls shishkabob that is about to happen.

And then I see it, a tiny path between two house. It leads directly to the woods, and we’re better off fighting off Rotters than Rotters and bandits. Val has her pistol out and is keeping the Rotters at bay the best she can.

“Together?” I ask her.

“Together,” Val repeats her eyes following my line of sight. I grab her hand and pull her will me. I have my machete in front of me, Val has her pistol out ready to cover our backs. We squeeze through the path with ease. The trucks engine roaring behind us, the sound of rapid fire filling the air. Any Rotter or undead in the area will go towards them and hopefully leave us alone.

We pop out of the path into the backyard of a house, a few Rotters linger around. I don’t hesitate. I can’t. All I’m thinking about is getting us out of this mess. Charging forward I take out the Rotters with ease. Blood splatters and I can hear Val calling my name.  
“Juliana!” She’s facing the path we just came from, her gun raised. I can see it on her face; fear.

“No,” I whisper. A man appears between the buildings holding a much larger gun in his hand. He’s got a skeevy mustache, and beady eyes. They’re roaming up and down Val’s body. He licks his lips. I see red.

 

“I won’t shoot if you ladies come with us willingly,” He shouts over the sound of the fire fight behind him. My feet move me closer to Val. Her hand is shaking as she holds the gun.  
“You’ll make the boys back at camp very happy…” He smirks. My stomach churns at the thought.

“Like hell we will,” I shout back.

“Ooh, feisty, we like them with a little fight to’em, makes it more fun for us,” he chuckles darkly. We both frown deeply at him. “You two should smile more, you’d look more delectable that way.”

“Take me and let her go,” I say without thinking and sheathing my machete. I put my hands up and walk toward him.

“What are you doing?” Val yells at me. I turn my back to the man to respond to her. He grabs me while I’m not looking and pressing his gun to my head.

“Failing to make a deal,” the man says. The smell of his breaths put the odor of the Rotters to shame, honestly. I try not to gag. “Come with us, princess, or your friend’s brains are gonna be all over the place. The man has his arm crossed over my collarbone, pressing his forearm to my throat, his palm holding firmly to my shoulder. I have my hand on his wrist trying to pull it away to no avail.

“Don’t do it, please!” I scream at her. She’s looking at me like I’m crazy. Our eyes lock. I tap my finger on his hand, the one holding my shoulder. She squints at me; I know the look.

_Are you sure?_

I tap his hand again. Val takes a deep breathe, meeting my gaze full on. In a millisecond a lot happens.

I stomp on my assailants’ foot with the heel of my boot. It distracts him long enough to lose his guard, but not long enough for him to loosen his grip enough.

Val fires her gun.

The bullet goes through his hand and my shoulder. We both tumble to the ground. His gun falling away. My shoulder hurts like a bitch, but I can’t think about it right now despite how much I want to. I reach for his weapon before he can. I place the barrel in his face; he looks up at me like a wild animal caught in a trap.

I tilt my head with a smirk, “you should smile more. You’d look less like a shit head.”

And then I pull the trigger. I actually pull the trigger. I watch in disassociated horror as bullets go through his face, blood and flesh splattering me from my position above him. Shakily I drop the gun. Valentina comes up behind me and grabs my uninjured arm.

“Juli, we have to go, like now,” she begs me.

“I—I shot him…”

Not able to tear my eyes away from the mutilated human on the ground in front of me.

“Yes, you did, and he deserved it, but we need to go before more come this way,” she says desperately, the edge obvious in her voice.

“He—he was human, Val,” I turn to look at her, she's gazing around warily. She looks at me, her eyes softening for a split second.

“No, he was a different kind of monster. We do what we have to survive, and right now, we need to run to survive. Can you do that for me?” I nod numbly. “Okay, let’s go. I’ve got you, Juliana.” Val links her hand with mine and tugs me forward carefully until we’re running side by side, hand in hand. She has one katana in her empty hand, and I have my machete.

We’re a sight for sore eyes as we run through the woods.

Filthy savages. Blood covered predators. Feral beings.

Women born of chaos and something wild.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out the moodboard I made for this story/chapter here! [Something Wild Moodboard](https://zags96.tumblr.com/post/183540828673/something-wild-by-zags96-we-do-what-we-have-to)
> 
> And! The masterlist for all moodboards for this book! [ Something Wild Moodboard Masterlist ](https://zags96.tumblr.com/post/184280588738/something-wild-by-zags96-summary-five-years)
> 
> Also, feel free to follow my [tumblr](https://zags96.tumblr.com/)
> 
> I'll be updating again tomorrow!


	7. Part II: Chapter Seven

I wake up in darkness. My body shifts. I’m lying on top of a bed, I can feel the springs pushing into my back, the pillow beneath my head. A pain shoots through my body and I cry out involuntarily. 

“Peaches,” Val’s voice appears softly scolding me, “be careful, please.” 

“What—where are we?” I groan turning my head to look for Valentina. She’s sitting against the wall across the room. Faintly, I can make out the outline of her body. 

“You don’t remember?” 

“I remember running away from the bandits,” I scrunch up my face in thought, trying to place where we ended up after that. Across the room, I hear Valentina stand up and make her way to the bed I’m laying on. The mattress dips a little as she sits beside me. She brushes her hand across my forehead, tucking my hair behind my ear carefully. 

“We made it out of the woods just fine but got ambushed by a few Rotters in a neighborhood in the town over,” she explains softly. “You powered through them like a badass with a machete.”

“I am a badass with a machete,” I mumble, eyelids growing heavy. 

“I know you are, Peaches,” she chuckles. “Anyway, we cleared a few houses, and finally settled here. When our adrenaline crashed, so did you. You lost a lot of blood from where I had to shoot you. Luckily, the bullet only grazed your shoulder, but it was a pretty bad gash. I cleaned you up, stitched it, and bandaged it before putting you in bed. You’ve been in and out with a fever. I’m hoping it’ll pass.”

“Medicine. In my pack,” I say. 

“I know, I dug through it to find some antibiotics, anti-inflammatory, and fever-reducing medicine in your first-aid kit. You’re very well prepared.” I open my eyes slowly, looking up at Val. She smiles. “Get some rest, I’ll be here when you wake up.”

“You should leave me, we’re close to where your family is,” I say, eyes falling closed. “I’ll just hold you back.” 

“I’m not going anywhere, now rest.” Tempted to argue, but the words down come out of my mouth. Instead, I feel the welcoming embrace of sleep pulling me toward it. And who am I to fight against sleep? Who knows when I’ll get to rest this long again? Granted, all it took was getting captured by a bandit and shot by Val, but beggars can’t be choosers. I’m in and out of sleep for a while. Every time I wake up Val is always right there. Either on the bed next to me, across the room, or coaxing me to drink water or eat a snack. I’ve lost all track of time. The throbbing in my shoulder is waning, it still hurts to move. 

My dreams are filled with a post-apocalyptic worlds. Bright blue skies. Clear blue oceans. Waves that lap gently at the sandy beaches. Tall trees. Branches that sway in the wind delicately. Bare feet in the leaves of the forest. Melodic laughter. Slender fingers. A smile that lights up the darkness. 

I dream of a world where people don’t meet in alleyways surrounded by the undead. Where families love each other and don’t leave. Where falling in love doesn’t come with a massively higher risk of losing them. 

When I wake from another blissful dream, I come face to face with the reality that a life like that will never happen again. I’m trapped in this endless nightmare that every horror movie tried to anticipate. If only we listened more. If only we didn’t deem them unrealistic fantasies that could never occur in our life at least. Yet, here we are. Either dead or being hunted by them. 

“Hey, you’re awake,” Valentina says walking into the bedroom. She’s in a clean set of clothes, blood and dirt cleaned off her body. I wonder if this is what she would look like in a normal world. “How are you feeling?”

“Better,” I say and try to push myself into a sitting position. Pain shoots through my body from my shoulder; I hiss in pain. Val rushes to me and helps me sit up more. “Good thing this isn’t my dominant arm, huh?”

“Of course, you’re more concerned about killing more Rotters than you are about your health,” she sighs and sits across from me on the bed tucking one leg under her and letting the other hang off the bed. 

“How long have I been out?” 

“Almost two days,” Val says, picking at the hem of her shirt. “Your fever’s been gone for a day, and there aren’t any signs of infection, so I think you’ll be okay.”

“Tell that to the hole in my shoulder,” I say flinching at the pain in my arm. Val’s eyes shoot toward me. The blue is duller, not it’s usually oceanic hue, but more of a stormy sky. 

“You could have died.” She says after a long pause. Her voice is even, yet quiet.

“But I didn’t.”

“What you did was beyond stupid.” Her voice grows louder with each word. “You put your life in explicit danger! Why would you do something like that? What made you think that was a good idea? Were you even thinking, Juliana?” 

“Val…” I reach for her, trying to calm her down. A wild look covering her face.

“Don’t you ‘Val’ me.” She shakes her head, her brown hair falling around her face; she tucks a piece of hair behind her ear. “You were safe, you—you should have run. You didn’t need to move closer to him, so why? What changed from protecting yourself to putting your life at risk?” 

“Do you really need to ask me that, Valentina?” I sigh trying to run my fingers through my tangled hair. She remains silent. “You saved my life. I saved yours.”

“It wasn’t about getting even, and you know it.” 

“It seems like you already have it figured out, so I don’t see why you need me to tell you.” 

“God! You’re so—so—infuriating! Is it so hard to admit it yourself, Juliana? To admit it to me?” Val’s eyes bore into mine, challenging me, daring me, begging me to say it. What is there to say? I’ve known her for a little more than a week and I put my life on the line for her. It wasn’t the way she had done it. It wasn’t with low-risk and high-reward. No, I risked my life for her and we both could’ve ended up dead. Or at the very least, I would have been. She may have saved my life, but she didn’t risk her own. 

“My parents left me, Valentina. Not on some heroic quest to save my life, but for purely selfish reasons,” I state simply. “You have a family who cares about you, who’s probably waiting for you, you have more to lose if you’re dead than I do.” 

“Don’t do that; don’t put my life at a higher value than yours,” she drops her head into her hands with a groan. 

“I knew I was more than capable enough of getting out of his grasp,” I say quietly. She lifts her head and looks at me in confusion. “I told you, I was trained for this for the past five years, I know what I’m doing.”

“You willing put yourself in danger on the off chance that you could escape him?” 

“In part, I also trusted you to make the shot when and where I needed you to,” I shrug. Which was a bad call. Another pain shoots through me. “Fuck.” 

“You trusted me.” She states, eyes widening ever so slightly.

“Yes,” I say through clenched teeth waiting for the pain to subside. “Is that so hard to believe?” 

“Kind of, yeah…”

“Val, you’ve saved my life twice already, you haven’t let me down yet. I was willing to gamble my life on that,” I explain carefully. “And, I guess, I don’t know, I care about you. I know we’ll be reuniting you with your family soon, and we’ll go our separate ways. But I didn’t want to lose you like that, okay? I’ve lost enough people, I didn’t need to lose you too.” 

“You don’t have to lose me,” Val scouts on the bed until she’s next me. She leans her head on my shoulder. “If—if you wanted to, you could stay with my family and I.” 

“I have to find my mom…” I whisper in response. Valentina yawns, stretching her long legs out in front of her, holding lightly onto my good arm, her fingers curled slightly around mine. 

“I know, but when you do…if you want to, you could join us. I’ll leave notes for you; just follow the peaches.” I can feel her grin against my neck. Her breathing evens out as she falls asleep. My brain is going haywire at the puffs of air tickling my neck, and the way her fingers flex a little bit in her sleep. She’s curled lightly, carefully against my side, and I’m afraid to move; afraid to wake her. 

Mentally, I’m scolding myself for putting my life at risk for a woman I barely know. But the scared look in her eyes when the bandit had his gun aimed at her…the way her hand shook as she stared him down, there was no way I couldn’t intervene in some way. I didn’t even think about it, I just did it. And as she buries herself deeper against my side while she sleeps, I know I made the right choice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sweet little beans getting all cozy and comfortable with each other finally...
> 
> But, the next chapter will be....angsty. and probably painful. 
> 
> so, yeah! You're welcome
> 
> Check out the moodboards I made for this book! [ Something Wild Moodboard Masterlist ](https://zags96.tumblr.com/post/184280588738/something-wild-by-zags96-summary-five-years)
> 
> Also, feel free to follow my [tumblr](https://zags96.tumblr.com/)
> 
> I'll be updating again tomorrow!


	8. Part II: Chapter Eight

“Valentina!” I yell at her for the fifth time in the last hour. We’ve been walking down—up?—the highway toward Hallston. She’s been hyper all morning, bouncing on the toes of her feet excitedly. And she’s been dancing. Oh, my god, she won’t stop dancing. That stupid little victory dance that she does when she gets a good kill? The shimmying, and shaking, and butt-wiggles; yeah, multiply that by ten. And it’s not even halfway to picturing what this dork looks like while she dances in the middle of the highway, in the midst of an apocalypse.

I have to admit it though, it’s endearing. In a totally platonic way of course.

“You are absolutely no fun, Peaches,” she stops dancing and pouts.

“I literally only have one decent arm, you can’t be distracted like this,” I say pointing to my still heavily bandaged shoulder. It’s gotten more mobile in the past couple of days, but it’ll never be one-hundred percent. I’ll just have to deal with it. But, for now, I have Val to watch my back—that is, if she’s capable of not dancing.

“I’m just really excited to be back with my family,” she admits as she catches up to me, her stride matching my mine. “It’s been too long, I hope they’re all okay.” I nod and point off to the side of the road. There’s a broken guardrail and a path that leads down the hill into town. Valentina and I carefully trot down the hillside onto the street. The streets are lined with buildings, most of the windows broken, glass scattered all over the ground. Cars crashed through sides of buildings. Headless, limbless Rotters lying all across the road. Valentina skitters to a stop next to me in the road, and turns around in a circle slowly, eyes roaming the scene before us.

“Whoa, what a mess…”

“Nice observation,” I roll my eyes. “If you haven’t noticed, most of the towns we’ve been through look like this, Val.”

“Easy there, Peaches,” she throws her hands up. She smiles at me and then it grows brighter. Her eyes light up and she lets out a tiny squeal, “there!” She points further down the road where there is a symbol spray painted on the side of a truck.

“A butterfly?” I ask, “What about it?”

“My mom loved butterflies, and my dad made it a symbol for our family when she died. We all agreed, if anything were to happen, if we got separated out here, we’d just follow the butterflies.”

“The same way you’d have me follow the peaches,” I say.

“Exactly. It’s unique to us, so you’d know it was me,” She smiles brightly at me. “Let’s go.” I follow her lead, keeping an eye out for any butterflies painted or etched into things. We make it through town without a problem, not a single undead moving around in sight. We get further from downtown and into the residential areas. Val is moving quickly, she has a bounce to her step that I haven’t seen before. She’s excited. I’m excited for her, but a pang in my gut tells me that I shouldn’t be.

“Your family seems to have taken out most of the Rotters in the area,” I point out as we pass another pile of mutilated Rotters.

“Hate to break it to you, Peaches, but you’re not the only skilled fighter out here,” she laughs, sending a blinding grinning my way.

“Yes, well, you’ve made that apparent,” I mimic her smile.

“Oh? Is the ever-serious Juliana paying me a compliment? It really must be the end of the world…” She feigns shock and rushes toward me, placing the back of her hand on my forehead. “Do you have a fever again? You’re not acting like yourself, Peaches.”

“Valentina,” I groan through a laugh, “you think you’re so funny.”

“You laughed.” She steps back with a cocky smirk on her face.

“Maybe it was at your face,” I point out quirking my eyebrow.

“Mm, I don’t think so,” Val steps closer. My eyes involuntarily drop to her lips and back up to her eyes to find them already looking at me carefully. “I see the way you look at me, Peaches. You’re only fooling yourself.” She gently caresses my cheek with her knuckles before winking at me.

“Umm,” I say trying to reboot my brain. My gaze looks passed her, where I see a giant butterfly painted on the side of a house. “Val, I think your family is in that house.”

“What?” She spins around quickly, her flirtatious demeanor dropping. My muscles relax immediately; air flows hastily back into my lungs. Before I can stop her, Val takes off running toward the house. I chase after her.

“Val, wait!” I yell.

“Take the back, I’ll take the front!” She shouts over her shoulder before disappearing into the front of the house.

“Fuck,” I grumble as I race off to the back of the house. The backyard is clear save for a few children toys littered on the overgrown grass and a broken swing-set. One swing still hangs from a singular chain, it sways in the breeze, rattling quietly. I turn around and move slowly to the sliding glass door at the back of the house. Wooden slats cover the hole where the glass used to be. I tug at the door, but it doesn’t budge, so I reach around to the strap on my backpack that holds my hatchet and hack away at the wood. After making a decent enough hole, I crawl through it, and into the kitchen. There are backpacks scattered around, varying weapons strewn haphazardly on the floors. Val is standing in the living room, holding a bag in her hands.

“This is Guille’s,” she whispers as she stares at it. “They have to be around her somewhere. I’m going to check downstairs, you check upstairs, okay?”

“I don’t think—”

“Please, Juls. I promised my dad we would stick together; that we'd be safe. Please, I’ll call if I need help, you do the same.” The desperation evident in her voice. Her hand shakes as she holds onto her brother’s bag. I nod, and she disappears around the corner to the basement. Sighing, I run my hand over my face in frustration, and head toward the staircase. My feet make little sound as I climb the staircase, my machete in hand. As I reach the top of the stairs I can hear a faint noise coming from one of the rooms. Slowly, I move through the hallway.

I check the rooms that are silent first incase the family members are in there and hiding something in the other room. But there’s no one up here. I’m hopeful that they just went out on a quick scavenge and they’ll be back. Valentina would get her family back and I would just be glad she’s happy before going on my way. Clinging to this hope wasn’t a good idea. Not in the slightest. I let it blind me, let it keep me from seeing my objective clearly.

That’s how I end up opening the door where the noises are coming from without thinking. I don’t have time to react until there’s a body on top of me. Rotten odor fills my nostrils. The sound of teeth snapping and the moans growing louder and more desperate the longer I hold the Rotter off.

There are more. Two more exactly. I can hear them stuck in the room where this one came from. They want to get to me too.

“Valentina!” I scream as I try to keep the Rotters from biting me. I don’t want to hurt them. I’m scared they’re her family. I know they’re her family. It’s the only thing that makes the most sense right now. Who knows how long they’ve been like this? Who put them in that room? Did they do it themselves?

“I’m coming, Peaches, hang on!” I hear her voice yelling followed by footsteps thundering up the stairs. The Rotter on top of me snaps closer to my face. I have to crane my neck to keep it from getting me. “Juliana!”

She’s right next to me.

“Val, a little help!” I yell putting all my strength in keeping myself from being turned into a meal.

“It’s—it’s them…” She whispers and I almost don’t hear her over the Rotter growling on top of me. I don’t know what to say or do. I can’t ask her to kill them, not after having to kill her dad in the same way. I can’t…I don’t want to. I’d much rather die than make her go through—

Three consecutive shots are fired.

The moaning and scratching stops; the Rotter falls on top me.

"I'm sorry, dad." I hear her choke out. "I tried."

And then, silence. Only broken up by the intermittent sobs falling from Valentina’s lips.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out the moodboard I made for this story/chapter here! [Something Wild Moodboard](https://zags96.tumblr.com/post/183649310913/something-wild-by-zags96-part-ii-chapter-eight)
> 
> And! The masterlist for all moodboards for this book! [ Something Wild Moodboard Masterlist ](https://zags96.tumblr.com/post/184280588738/something-wild-by-zags96-summary-five-years)
> 
> Also, feel free to follow my [tumblr](https://zags96.tumblr.com/)
> 
> I'll be updating again tomorrow!
> 
> Also, also, this is a tumblr I made with a friend, we post juliantina moodboards! [juliantina-moodboards tumblr](https://juliantina-moodboards.tumblr.com)
> 
>  
> 
> Overal fic [Something Wild Moodboard](https://juliantina-clexa.tumblr.com/post/183540828673/something-wild-by-zags96-we-do-what-we-have-to)


	9. Part III:  Chapter Nine

It’s been a month. Val has refused to leave the house where we found her family. Actually, she refused to leave the bedroom upstairs. I can barely convince her to eat and drink. She won’t talk to me, she barely sleeps, I hear her crying at all hours of the day. There isn’t much I’ve been able to do to help her. I’ve tried talking to her, holding her, giving her space, and nothing has changed. 

I don’t blame her, nor do I expect her to get over this so easily. She had to kill her whole family. No one bounces back from that quickly. But I’m starting to worry. We’re running low on supplies, and it’s not safe to spend this long in one spot. Rotters and Screechers could overwhelm us at any point. And since Val isn’t in the right mental or physical condition to fight them, I’d be left with my singular good arm, a machete, and no where to run, because there’s no way in hell that I would leave her behind. 

So, I’ve been biding my time. Taking care of her when she’ll let me, keeping watch for Rotters in the neighborhood, and trying not to lose my ever-loving mind. 

“Val,” I say as I enter the room, a canteen of water in my hand and a bag of jerky in the other. “I need you to eat something for me, it’s been a few days…” She’s curled on her side, facing away from the door. Her hair a knotted mess, eyes a dull and vacant blue, puffy from crying. I move around to the other side of the bed, leveling myself to look her in the eyes. “Valentina, please.”

“Go away.”

“Not until you eat and drink this,” I say putting the snacks next to her on the bed. 

“I don’t want to,” she snaps smacking them off the bed. The canteen clatters to the ground, the jerky bag landing on my lap. She flips onto her other side, facing away from me. “Get out.” 

“No,” I say and crawl into bed beside her, sitting with my back against the headboard. “I’m not leaving you.” She sits up angrily, glaring at me. I don’t flinch, I don’t move; no part of her anger is threatening to me. It has nothing on the anger I’ve seen from my dad. 

“I said, get out, Juliana. Go, leave. I don’t want you here, I want nothing to do with you!” She’s kneels on the bed, yelling in my face, fist shaking chaotically by her sides. “This is your fault! If you hadn’t been so stupid and let yourself get captured—if you didn’t make me shoot you! We would’ve been here sooner, they would’ve still been alive.”

“There’s no way we could’ve known that,” I say calmly. “I’m sorry, Val, I’m really sorry.”

“I hate you,” she hisses between clenched teeth. “Do you hear? I hate you! I hate you! I hate you!” She tries to lash out, I know she doesn’t mean to, I know she doesn’t actually want to hurt me. Gently, I latch onto her wrists, wrapping my hands around them to keep her from hurting me, from hurting herself. “I hate you.” She says more quietly, tears slipping out of the corners of her eyes. Her fight subsides, her body slackening in my hands. 

“It’s okay, Val. I promise, it’s going to be okay,” I whisper staring into her eyes. “You’re going to make it through this, okay? Together. I’m not going anywhere, I’m not leaving you. You don’t have to lose me too.” 

She tugs weakly at my grip, “let me go. I don’t—I don’t care anymore. I don’t want to fight anymore, Juls.” A broken sob tumbles from her lips and tug her toward me gently, holding her against me. My arms wrap around her body and she tucks her head into the crook of my neck. 

“I know,” I say softly, rubbing her back. “I know.” We stay like this for a while. She ends up curled in my lap, arms encircling my neck, face resting on my shoulder as she cries. I hold  
her tightly.

There were so many nights when I was younger, when my dad had gone on another angry tirade at home, violently thundering around the house, that I wished I had someone to hold me like this. To make me feel safe and loved and cared for when no one else could. I spent so long fighting to survive when I was little that fighting to survive now is nothing new—besides the undead trying to eat me, but they’re not as scary as the man that lived in my house waving his gun around when I looked at him the wrong way. Lupe would spend the nights trying to calm him down instead of protecting me. And I would spend them hiding away in my room waiting for the violence to end, for the silence to come, and I could finally let my exhaustion take me away to sleep. 

Valentina’s breathing calms down, steadying as the time passes. And I hold her, like I wanted—no, needed—to be when I was younger. I hold her and I let her sleep and feel cared for. Because, she was right all along. There is no point in fighting to survive in this world if there isn’t something that is worth fighting for. And she is. Valentina is worth fighting for. I don’t care what it takes or how long it takes, I’m going to help her; care for her. I’m going to hold her close and tell her again, and again, that it’s going to be okay, that I’m not going to leave her, that I care for her the way she cares for me. Together, we can survive this. 

I keep holding Val tightly for a long time. Long enough for my arms to go numb. My legs too. Long enough to watch the sun set and rise again. But I can’t sleep. I can’t sleep because despite the pain in my shoulder from where I got shot, despite the fact that my arms and legs are tingling from lose of circulation, I don’t want to wake up and find her gone; find her broken next to me. I need to be here if she wakes up, if she needs me.  
So, I hold her, and I let her sleep this nightmare away in hopes that when she wakes up, maybe it’ll be just a little bit better. Just a little bit. 

*** 

Two days later, Val is better, in her own way. She’s eating more, crying less, but she still has that vacant look in her eyes. Sometimes, I find her staring off at nothing. She doesn’t hear me calling her name until I’m blocking her view and forcing her to look at me. She’ll force a smile, and say my name, before excusing herself back to her room. But it’s progress. We all heal at our own rates, and who am I to force her to heal faster? 

The circumstances may be special, we may be fighting for survival against the Rotters, but that doesn’t mean that Valentina shouldn’t be allowed to heal at her own pace. So, I’m going to let her. There’s no time constraint on finding my mom, I don’t even know where she would be. I know, she went north, that’s all she ever talked about. Chino’s work was always taking him up north, it would be the logically conclusion to fall to when trying to find him. And, therefore, the only direction I know that my mom would go. But there’s so much north of where our Q-zone was. I could be looking for them for the rest of my life. 

All I know is that they’re not here and Valentina is, so that’s where my energy is going. To helping her; taking care of her. Saving her like she has done for me several times. 

The only issue being is that we’re out of food. I’ve gone through everything in my pack, Valentina’s packs, and even the backpacks of her family members. There’s nothing but a few drops of water left, and I know for certain we won’t last long on that. 

“Fabulous,” I grumble after tossing aside another empty bag. “Best day ever.” I sigh, standing up from my crouched position on the floor in the living room. We need supplies, and considering the state Val is in right now, I doubt she’ll be able to come with me to gather some. Which will leave me wandering the streets alone with a bad shoulder, which sounds like a bad idea, but there isn’t much of a choice. 

I head up stairs to Val’s room and knock lightly on the door frame. She’s sitting on the edge of her bed, facing away from the door like she usually is. Her hair falls over her shoulders, no longer a tangled mess. We were able to get a make shift shower going a few days ago, scrubbed the blood and Rotter goo of our bodies and out of our hair. While Valentina cleaned herself off, I took care of cleaning the dirty clothes and hanging them up to dry. For the first time since we met, we actually look like regular people. Val had on a pair of black jeans and a white and maroon baseball t-shirt. A leather jacket sits next to her on the bed. I approach her slowly, kneeling on the hardwood floor in front of her. 

She’s crying again. A frown forms on my lips, “Val, what’s going on?” 

“I miss them,” she whispers. 

“I know,” I nod solemnly.  
Her eyes meet mine, glassy with tears. “You look good in this jacket.” She smiles half-heartedly, fingering the collar of the black jean jacket I have on. 

“Thanks,” I say, reaching up and taking her hand in mine. “I need to run into town for supplies, will you be okay here on your own for a little bit?” Her hand tightens its grip on mine. 

“What? No, don’t leave me here alone,” she whispers, panic coating her voice. “I’ll come with you.”

“Val, I don’t think that’s a good idea…”

“I’m okay, please, let me help,” she begs, grabbing both my hands in hers, bringing them to her chest. “You promised you wouldn’t leave me.” She pouts. And I know I’m not going to go back on that promise or be able to resist the look she’s giving me. I sigh. 

“Okay, get ready, we leave in five.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm been spiraling down lately, and I've found it super difficult to find the motivation to write or anything. I'm hoping to finish this story despite how I'm feeling, but I may be a little slower with the updates because of it. 
> 
> Thank you in advance for your patience!
> 
>  
> 
> And! The masterlist for all moodboards for this book! [ Something Wild Moodboard Masterlist ](https://zags96.tumblr.com/post/184280588738/something-wild-by-zags96-summary-five-years)
> 
> Also, feel free to follow my [tumblr](https://zags96.tumblr.com/)
> 
> I'll be updating again tomorrow!
> 
> Also, also, this is a tumblr I made with a friend, we post juliantina moodboards! [juliantina-moodboards tumblr](https://juliantina-moodboards.tumblr.com)
> 
>  
> 
> Overal fic [Something Wild Moodboard](https://juliantina-clexa.tumblr.com/post/183540828673/something-wild-by-zags96-we-do-what-we-have-to)


	10. Part III: Chapter Ten

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm doing a bit better, but I wanted to give you something. So here's another chapter.

We make it back to town without an issue. Valentina walks behind me, her footsteps sluggish and dragging as she goes. She’s a little ways behind me, her butterfly knife twirling in her hand. Every now and again, I see her staring off into space, or hesitating when she sees the butterfly symbol on something. I don’t call attention to it. Instead, I keep my eye out for any signs of danger. 

I wish I could do something more for her. I can tell she's not okay, I mean who would be? First, she has to kill her dad, and then the rest of her family? That's brutal in a whole other way. It's painful to watch her like this; quiet, distant, not cracking jokes and flirting every two seconds. She's skinnier than before, paler too, her blue eyes are almost grey with how dull they are. No matter how hard I tried to be there for her, to get her to eat, to comfort her. She kept pushing me away. But I always came back. A part of me takes the blame for what happened to her family. If I hadn't been injured and we didn't have to hold off traveling for a few days; if I had been paying more attention in that house; if I didn't let myself get pinned...maybe her family would be alive, or at the very least Val wouldn't have had to kill the rest of them. 

_Is she pushing me away because she actually blames me? Maybe she hates me now for it..._ The sheer thought of that makes my stomach twist in an unruly way. I push the thought away, focusing on our surroundings and our goal. No more distractions while we're in these moments. It's clear that whenever I'm distracted we end up fucked. 

I look around the town as we walk, trying to determine the best place to find supplies. I’m sure at this point there isn’t much left, but it’s always worth a shot. Valentina isn’t a picky eater, and neither am I. You can’t really be picky when food is so scarce anyway. 

We go into several stores without much luck. There are several restaurants that we go into, some of them hold nothing more than broken glass and remnants of world that no longer exists. Others have padlocks on their food supplies that most who straggled by the place must not have had the ability or idea to break it off. Val is standing guard behind me while we’re hiding away in the back are of a diner near the kitchen. She’s lazily leaning against the door frame casually looking around twirling her knife while I dig through my backpack for my lockpicking set—it’s really just a couple hair pins that I’ve bent to work in my favor. 

It takes me a few tries, but eventually the padlock clicks open and I pull it away from the door before yanking it open. Inside is a pantry, it’s mildly stocked with food that’s gone rotten, but there are a lot of canned foods on the shelves as well. 

“Val, come here, I need your backpack too,” I call out to her. She comes meandering in with her bag already open. I start tossing cans into her bag and then the rest into mine. “This should last us a little while. We just need to find some medical supplies to replenish from this,” I gesture to my shoulder. 

“Okay,” she shrugs and puts her backpack back on before walking out of the diner. I try not to take her behavior personally, I know she’s trying. I know she’s grieving, but what’s the use of having her with me in town if I don’t feel like I can fully trust her if we ended up in danger right now? She’s unfocused, sluggish, uncaring, and I highly doubt she’d notice if a Rotter was three feet in front of her. But I try to give her the benefit of the doubt. 

When I come back out of diner, Val is further down the road, kicking cans across the road. I sigh heavily watching as she wanders around before heading into a few stores around me. Most are ransacked to all hell, nothing more than empty shelves and items that are not even remotely useful to me. Candy wrappers, broken bottles, and some seriously mutilated dead bodies behind the cashier’s counter. My feet scuff on the floor as I meander through the aisles of the store. The front yielded no results, but the further back into the building I go, the more supplies I find, it’s like no one had even bothered to go this far back before. 

At the very back of the building, there’s a door that I assume leads to storage and stock items. I kept my hair pins in my pocket for easy access in case I needed them again and I get to work on the door lock. The door swings open with ease when I’m done, and I step into the back room. There are tall shelves stacked with boxes, and the place is surprisingly well-kept. 

“I guess no one’s been back here in a while,” I say to myself as I check the labels on the boxes. Most are food, and I grab some perishables that would be a nice treat for Val and I. Chocolates, chips, a few cans of soda. I don’t care that my bag is weighing a little heavy or causing pain in my shoulder. I just want to make her smile, even if it’s for a little bit. 

I’ve been in the back room for maybe ten minutes, and I’m wondering where Val is. She didn’t follow me, but I know she saw me go into this store, so at least there’s that. So far I’ve found more pain meds, gauze, a first-aid kit, and I’m currently trying to find some sewing needles and maybe some kind of fishing line in case we need to do more stitching. As I’m digging through the box, I end up pulling it too far off the shelf and it falls to the ground with a heavy and echoing thud. Holding my breath, I wait for the sound of danger. 

I’m about to breathe a sigh of relief when I hear the faint sound of shuffling coming my way. I duck behind the shelf, peering between boxes to see the intruder. I’m expecting a Rotter, because I don’t hear any low-pitch squeaks that signal a Screecher. Or maybe Valentina has finally decided to be of use on this scavenging trip. What I don’t expect is this out right beefy looking thing come shuffling into the back room. It honestly looks like a body builder got way too overzealous in his work out routine. He’s a goliath. His shoulder muscles protrude massively from his back, his head seems miniscule in comparison. Arms are long and muscular, his legs short, but just as strong. It’s like a human and orangutan crossbreed with a dash of the undead. If it weren’t for the sickly green skin, I would think it was a cross-breeding experiment gone terrible wrong. But, alas, it’s green skin and—

 _Oh my god,_ I think in horror as the Goliath opens its mouth, a long tongue snaking out between its lips. Okay, a human, orangutan, and snake cross-breed. Super.  
The Goliath shuffles further into the room, the floor shaking slightly as it gets closer to me. _How did Val not see this thing coming?_ A brief moment of panic seizing my chest as I picture her dead in the street.

_No, I can’t think like that. She’s gotta be okay. I just have to get to her. Or hope that she can get to me in time._

Turning around I see a path behind me to the other aisles. I need to weave my way back to the front of the storage room and run. The Goliath is standing near the front by the door, and I need to get him away from it. Looking around, I find a bottle of shampoo by my feet and pick it up. My fingers are crossed that the sound of the bottle hitting the floor across the room will distract it and give me the chance to get away.

 _Please, let this work,_ I think before throwing the bottle with all my strength across the room. It lands with a crash and I watch the Goliath’s head whip in that directly. It stalks over toward the sound. Taking the opportunity, I turn and move as silently as possible. Toe to heel, shift weight, toe to heel, shift weight. 

The door is so close. 

The Goliath is still moving toward the sound. 

I hold my breath as I edge through the door frame. I close the door behind me and thank whatever deity that’s watching over me that it doesn’t make a sound. Then, I run. My feet slam heavily against the floor and I can hear the Goliath moving to the door. I don’t have time to stop or think I need to find Val. We need to get out of here. 

I kick several empty bottles around, they crash into walls shattering. 

My heart is pounding. And I’m really sick of running for my life at this point. 

I jump out of the broken store front window and turn around quickly in the street. 

“Where is she?” I mutter spinning in circles. Further down the road I see a pair of legs sticking out from behind a car. It’s the same spot where I had seen Val last. “Valentina, no. No, no, no.” I rub my hands up my face and into my hair in distress. I move to run to her, to make sure she’s okay, that she isn’t dead. She can’t be dead. I promised…I promised her it was going to be okay, that we’d get through it together. I shouldn’t have let her go off on her own. I should’ve stayed with her and protected her. Goddamn it. 

But I don’t move fast enough. The loudest growl comes from my right and as I turn, I see the Goliath barreling toward me. Before I can react, a heavy force knocks me off my feet and sends me flying throw a window of a store across the street. Sharp pain radiates all over my body. My hands are covered in blood and there is most definitely glass cuts all over me. I can hardly breathe; it hurts so bad. 

My head is throbbing. 

The room going fuzzy and fading away. 

I try to stand but can’t seem to get my body to cooperate. I’m going to die out here same as Val. Same as her family. Same as everyone else in this godforsaken apocalypse. 

In the distance I hear another growl and I fear there are more. But this growl sounds different. It’s a rumble. And it’s getting louder. And then tires are screeching on the street outside. Gun shots echo through the streets. 

“Val?” I whisper hopefully, though I'm fairly certain she's gone too. It’s probably the bandits for all I know. But, something in my brain is telling me it’s not. My body is moving. I’m standing and limping toward the sound. My arm clutching my ribs and eyes searching for the blue ones I’ve grown used to. 

A resounding crash comes from outside and as I reach the front window, I see the Goliath lying in its own blood. In front of it is Valentina, holding a rather intense looking gun, and grinning down at her kill. 

“Val…” I groan trying to climb out the window. 

“There you—” she turns and sees me, her face going pale white. “Juliana!” She yells and rushes toward me, reaching me just in time to catch me. 

“I thought you were dead,” I mutter just as I fall into her arms. 

“I killed a bandit that came this way and stole his truck,” she explains as if taking a life was no big deal. Yet, I can't seem to get myself to care either; maybe he was apart of the group that tried to kidnap us. “Come on, let’s get you out of here.” 

“Val,” I try to say as she carries me to the truck. “Val, I don’t think I’m going to make it.” My vision blurs further, she’s staring down at me as she hoists me into the back seat. 

“Stop, I’m not going to lose you too, do you hear me? Just hang on, Juli. Please.” I feel something wet fall on my face as my eyes close. 

“I—I’m sorry,” I mutter, “For everything.”

“Please, stay with me.”

“I’m sorry…” My voice doesn’t sound like my own. 

“Juliana, please!” Her voice fading away. 

And then everything goes black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out the moodboard I made for this story/chapter here! [Something Wild Moodboard](https://zags96.tumblr.com/post/183745639263/something-wild-by-zags96-part-iii-chapter-ten)
> 
> And! The masterlist for all moodboards for this book! [ Something Wild Moodboard Masterlist ](https://zags96.tumblr.com/post/184280588738/something-wild-by-zags96-summary-five-years)
> 
> Also, feel free to follow my [tumblr](https://zags96.tumblr.com/)
> 
>  
> 
> Also, also, this is a tumblr I made with a friend, we post juliantina moodboards! [juliantina-moodboards tumblr](https://juliantina-moodboards.tumblr.com)
> 
>    
> Overal fic [Something Wild Moodboard](https://juliantina-clexa.tumblr.com/post/183540828673/something-wild-by-zags96-we-do-what-we-have-to)


	11. Part III: Chapter Eleven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a series of Juliana's flashes of consciousness post accident.

Everything’s a haze. I can’t tell which way is up and which way is down. I think we’re in a house now. I don’t remember how we got here. Warm water is running over my body. Hands gently run over my body.

“Val?” A voice says. My voice?

“Shh, it’s okay, I’m just cleaning your wounds.” She responds. It sounds like her. It’s soft, melodic, gentle like her touch.

“I don’t feel so good. Woozy.”

There’s a splash.

***

Pain. My eyes won’t open, but I’m positive someone is torturing me right now. I cry out. It’s like a million shards of glass are slicing through my body at once. Maybe they are. Did I go through a window? I think I did…my head hurts.

I scream out in pain again.

“I know, Juli, I know,” Val’s soothing voice comes through the static noise in my head. “I have to get the glass out so I can stitch them closed.”

“Hurts,” I groan trying to smack her hand away. “Let me die.”

“I’m not losing another person I love, Peaches. It’ll be over soon I promise.” She tries to be gentle. I can tell she doesn’t want to hurt me as much as I don’t want to hurt. She pulls another piece out.

I try to stifle the scream but contracting the muscles in my body makes another pain appear. This time I do scream. Spindly tendrils of pain radiate from my abdomen. Breathing is hard. Nearly impossible. I sputter. Gasp. Reaching for Val. I hear the clatter of her tools fall to the floor. Her the sound of her coming closer to me.

“Hey, Juliana, baby girl,” She calls calmly. Her hand is on my cheek, her thumb stroking it slowly. “The more you panic the worse it’ll get. Focus on my voice. I’m right here. Everything is going to be okay.” She repeats it again. And again. And again. I focus on the tone of her voice. The feeling of her hand. The puffs of air that tickle my face when she speaks.

“I just want it to end,” I whisper with the little breath I have. “Let it end, Valentina.”

“Juls…”

“It hurts so much.” I force my eyes open, they feel heavy. Like I’m not even in control of them. My vision swarms with hazy colors and stars. Slowly blinking a few times, the world comes into focus. Valentina comes into focus. She’s hovering over me, her blue eyes creating tidal waves that trail down her cheeks, the tip of her nose, splattering onto my face.

“I can’t lose you, too. Please, I need you to fight.”

My eyes flutter closed.

As it all goes black, I feel something soft press to my lips hastily, a voice fading in the distance.

“I need you, you’re all I have left. I love you.”

***

I don’t know how long I’ve been asleep. When I wake up again my body is sore. Nothing feels real. I’m not in as much pain. Opening my eyes, I find the room drenched in a warm glow of the day. Light streams through the cracks in the windows, boards covering them per usual. I move my head slowly around trying to get my bearings. I stop when I notice Valentina on the bed with me, she’s laying on her side, hands tucker under her head, facing me. She looks exhausted. I wonder when she went to bed.

Gazing down at my body, I find myself only in a pair of shorts and a bra. A bandage is wrapped around my torso. I can’t even count how many other bandages cover up cuts and stitches all over my arms and legs. My fingers brush against my face; a few bandages linger across my cheeks and neck.

When did she do all of this? I think wracking my brain for some semblance of a memory of the time after the Goliath threw me through a window. I get glimpses. Bits of moments. Flashes of images. It’s like watching my life as a silent movie.

Val must’ve spent hours putting me back together; taking care of my wounds.

My heart flutters with the thought of her taking care of me despite her exhaustions; despite her loss.

I force myself to move across the bed closer to her. It hurts. Whimpers spill from my lips but I just want to be closer to her. I curl myself into her and I feel her stir quietly.

“Peaches?” She mumbles sleepily. “What are you doing? I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Please…” I whisper. She carefully wraps an arm around me. A small huff falls from my lips as she gently lays her arm over my hip. I tuck myself further into her embrace and let sleep take me away again.

***

I wake up startled because I can’t breathe. Val has her hand clasped over my mouth. She brings one finger up to her lips and motions for me to be quiet before removing her hand from my mouth. Outside the house I can hear the low-pitch squeaks that come with the presence of Screechers. My eyes widen knowing full well that any noise will signal our location and we could be overrun in a matter of seconds. By the way Val is looking at me, I know she’s thinking the same thing. I’m too injured to run or fight, and something tells me Val won’t be easily convinced to leave me behind if it came down to it.

The noise of the Screechers gets louder as they move closer to the house. They move in packs, roaming the streets waiting for the slightest noise to give them chase to a meal. I don’t want to know what other undead lurk within the Screechers pack. Usually, Rotters walk among them, ready to feed off of what they can find. But they move slow, deliberate, listening carefully. Val is looking at me, eyes roaming over my body carefully. Some of my bandages have blood stains on them, the wounds having opened in my sleep. She looks like she wants to scold me, and I don’t entirely blame her. Having moved toward her while we slept and cuddling into her embrace, there is no doubt that’s the reason the wounds have opened. I can’t find it in me to care though, because sleeping in her arms is the safest and most peaceful, I have felt since the moment my mom disappeared into the night four years ago. I’ve slept with one eye open since then, relying only on myself and my instincts.

I rest my hand lightly on Val’s thigh. The sudden contact makes her raise her gaze to meet mine. The concern melts away into something else, something different that I can’t entirely read. I get lost in the blue of her eyes, the waves taking me under and showing me a treasure that I hadn’t expected to find; solace.

Maybe I relied solely on myself before, but I’m starting to rely on Valentina, too. And I find great comfort in that.

We stay like that for a while, eyes locked in an intense gaze that leaves me breathless. There’s no way of telling how much time has passed other than the intermittent rays of light that pass through the windows. Neither Val or I notice the quiet that has enveloped the world around us until the sun begins to set.

“I think they’re gone,” she whispers into the tiny space between us.

“Yeah,” I say. Our faces drift closer, like a magnet is pulling us together. I can’t fight the pull, nor do I want to.

“I should change your bandages,” she points out slowly, her hand coming up to caress my cheek near a bandage. I glance at her lips.

“Okay.” I wet my lips; I watch as she pulls her bottom lip between her teeth. Time ceases to exist as we lean closer to each other. My heart hammers in my chest. Our foreheads rest together. Our breath mingling between us. I don’t know what I’m doing, what I’m feeling, but I don’t want to stop.

I lean forward to finally press our lips together, my ribs send a shooting pain through my body. A scream tears its way out of my throat, my head drops to Valentina’s shoulder; my arms wrapping around my abdomen.

“Peaches?” Val calls running her hand over my head. “Come on, lay back down, I’ll get you more pain medicine.” I do as she says and take the medicine when she gives it to me.

“Thank you.”

“It’s not a problem,” she says.

“No, I mean, thank you for not leaving me, and taking care of me.”

She smiles softly, brushing hair off my sweaty forehead, “I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. Now, rest, love. I’ll change your bandages while you do.”

“Okay,” I whisper nuzzling her hand before letting my eyes fall closed once again. As I drift to sleep, my mind wanders to a world free of the undead, one where Valentina and I are just women who could fall in love in normal circumstances.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I found it kind of interesting to write it like this, I wasn't planning on it, but it just kind of came out as I was typing, so I went with it. 
> 
> Another chapter should be coming soon! 
> 
> On a personal note: I went to a poetry reading last night by a handful of my favorite contemporary poets, and it was super empowering and emotional for me. It gave me a new perspective on writing and being true to what I want. So, in other words, fuck the haters. Imma do what I want and not let their negativity stop me from doing what I love.


	12. Part III: Chapter Twelve

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, I'm giving you some fluff...  
> which means I'm inevitably going to up the angst ante soon....  
> BUT ENJOY THE CUTE FLUFF AMIDST ZOMBIE CHAOS.

We’ve been in the house for almost a month, or so Valentina’s been saying. I honestly don’t know how long I was unconscious. To me, it feels like a year. My body is sore, my muscles weak, but most of my cuts have begun to heal. The superficial ones anyway. There were a few deeper one that I keep ripping open. Which leads to me getting yelled at. In my defense, it’s usually her fault. I just wanted to get closer to her, that’s all. But, then one thing led to another, and now I’m shirtless on the bed with her straddling my body.

“Val,” I groan into the mattress, head turned to the side.

“Baby girl stop moving so much and let me help you,” she smirks down at me, her hands resting on my stomach. I nod and her hands begin moving again, working their magic on my body. I cry out again.

“Seriously, Val, it hurts!”

“Well, if you stopped trying to wiggle your way into my arms at night you wouldn’t keep tearing open this cut on your side,” she says, pointing the needle at me.

“Fine, I won’t do it anymore,” I pout, and she shakes her head.

“Just be more careful, Peaches, that’s all I’m saying.” Val goes back to work threading the needle through my skin to close the wound again. As much as it hurts, I’ve grown used the pain in all honesty. The amount of times Val has had to stitch these wounds closed is too many for me to count. Which is bad because I think we’re going to be out of fishing line soon, so our make-shift stitching might meet an end soon.

“Tell me about your life before this shit storm happened,” I say with a shaky breath as she threads through my skin.

“I was just a normal girl,” Val says pausing her stitches.

“Come on, distract me while you pierce my skin with a pointy thing,” I roll my eyes at her. “What did you do for fun?”

“I liked taking pictures, I guess,” she says continuing her stitching. “There was something about finding and capturing beauty within everything.”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know, everything,” she finishes off the stitches but doesn’t move off my lap. “My brain worked as a lens. No matter where I turned, I saw the world in snapshots. Flower petals drifting down the street. Bare tree branches in the winter. Hazy sun light streaming through the windows in the morning. I really liked taking pictures of my friends and family.” She pauses her work at the mention of her family. I feel her take a shaky breath before continuing. She doesn't like talking about it. We haven't really approached the topic since I got hurled through a window. Once again, it's my fault that Valentina doesn't get to be happy. I really need to stop getting injured. 

"I'm sorry, Val..." I whisper. She ignores me. 

"I wish I still had pictures of them, something to remind me of them as they were, not how they died." I flinch as the needle passes through my skin again. 

"Maybe we can make out way to your house, find some pictures for you to keep," I suggest.

She smiles sincerely at me, "yeah, maybe we can." I can tell she doesn't want to keep talking about her family. She's hesitant, closing off, and as much as I know that I should get her to talk about this, I know that pushing her when she's not ready can make it worse. We all heal at our own paces; we all process and grieve differently, and who am I to force her to? 

“Would you like to take my picture?” I smirk. It’s her turn to roll her eyes at me.

“Yes,” she laughs, and it sounds like music to my ears. “I don’t think you could get me to stop taking pictures of you, Peaches.”

“Even now? Covered in bruises and scars and bloody bandages?”

“Always.” She tilts her head to the side, tugging her bottom lip between her teeth. “You look like a badass; total apocalypse vibe, you know?”

“As long as I look like a badass, I can suffer through it.”

“Beauty is pain after all.” She grins. “What about you? What did you do for fun?”

“Art,” I say simply. Val stares at me waiting for more. “I liked to go to art museums, or galleries, really any where that displayed peoples work.”

“If I had a photo gallery, you would go?”

“Absolutely,” I nodded, reaching forward and twirling a piece of her long brown hair between my fingers. “Photography, sculptures, paintings, fashion shows; anything that showcased people’s creativity. I liked taking the time to see the world the way they see it; to understand them in the way they can best express themselves and their views.”

“I think we would’ve gotten along well in that life,” Val captures my hand and presses her lips to it. “Don’t you agree?”

“Yeah, I would hope so at least. If my dad being a hitman didn’t scare you off.”

“Your dad’s job has nothing to do with who you are, Juliana. I lo—like you for who you are, not who your family is” A blush rushes up her neck, covering her cheeks. I grin.

“Oh, you like me, huh?” I tease her, but then an image comes to mind. It’s vague, and blurry, but it feels like a memory. Faint, and quiet, and somewhat distorted, but I can hear her voice uttering three words before her lips are on mine. “Just like?” I prod testing the waters to find the truth.

“Um, well…” Val’s blush intensifies, making my confidence and smirk grow. She swings herself off my lap and tosses me my shirt before putting some distance between us.

“I could have sworn you told me something different while I was in and out of consciousness…” I cock my head to the side, raising an eyebrow. “Hm, must’ve just dreamt it.” I stand from the bed and move closer to her. “My mistake.” I shrug and start to walk away when she grabs my hand and gently tugs me back to her. She clasps both my hands in hers, dropping her head against them.

“It’s just—You know what’s wrong with you? It’s that I can’t stop thinking about you,” she lowers our hands and our eyes meet. “It’s like a broken record on a loop. It’s embarrassing.”

“I can’t stop thinking about you either,” I say a soft smile spreading across my face.

“Do—do you remember what I said? After you got hurt, and you were in and out of consciousness…do you remember?”

“You might have to jog my memory,” I whisper into the space between us. She groans, clearly frustrated and flustered.

“I said that I can’t lose you, that I need you; you’re all I have left,” Val starts, her eyes cast downward. Slowly, she brings her gaze back to mine. “I love you.”

"Took you long enough,” I say softly, reaching up and tugging her closer to me. I can faintly feel her lips hovering on mine. When our lips finally meet, it feels like coming home. Like all the chaos we’ve endured this far has been worth it because it led us to each other. There’s no way to explain how this kiss makes me feel; it’s like my lungs are filled with such sweetness and yet I still can’t breathe. Like she’s taken my breath away and breathed life into me all at once. I never thought I’d feel this way; feel this alive, this safe, this free, especially existing within a nightmare of an undead apocalypse.

Val pulls back smiling sweetly at me, her eyes twinkling in the sunlight coming into the house.

“I love you, Val,” I say. The smile she sends my way is soft and bright, and I can’t imagine going a day without it. It’s worth fighting to stay alive just to be able to keep making her smile at me like that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out the moodboard I made for this story/chapter here! [Something Wild Moodboard](https://zags96.tumblr.com/post/183818247173/something-wild-by-zags96-part-iii-chapters-eleven)
> 
> And! The masterlist for all moodboards for this book! [ Something Wild Moodboard Masterlist ](https://zags96.tumblr.com/post/184280588738/something-wild-by-zags96-summary-five-years)
> 
> Also, feel free to follow my [tumblr](https://zags96.tumblr.com/)
> 
>  
> 
> Also, also, this is a tumblr I made with a friend, we post juliantina moodboards! [juliantina-moodboards tumblr](https://juliantina-moodboards.tumblr.com)
> 
>    
> Overal fic [Something Wild Moodboard](https://juliantina-clexa.tumblr.com/post/183540828673/something-wild-by-zags96-we-do-what-we-have-to)


	13. Part IV: Chapter Thirteen

We’ve officially run out of food. Val’s been procrastinating because she doesn’t think I’m capable of leaving the house. And I’ve been insistent that she’s not going without me. Which is how we end up sharing the last of the water and beef jerky from the convenience store over a month ago. There’s nothing left to do in this house than pack up and find more supplies. That’s the life we live now. 

It’s not the easiest to walk around, my body is still healing. My bruising are turning yellow, and my cuts are turning to scars, but my muscles don’t feel like they had before. All those years training came crushing down the moment the fucking ugly beast tossed me through a window like a ragdoll. I’m not upset or anything; not in the slightest. Now I’m borderline useless to Val other than the occasional Rotter I can take down on my own. 

Don’t get me wrong, she can handle pretty much everything on her own. But I don’t like not being of any help. I don’t like feeling helpless in this situation, but I know I need to heal before I can fully get back to what I was before. So, I let Val carry the heavy stuff, and kill the Rotters, and go into rooms first, even though my heart is thundering in my chest every time because what if she gets hurt? What if I lose her?

I’m determined to get better so I can protect her, because I’m not losing her. I refuse. Not even this bruised and battered body could stop me from protecting her, no matter the cost. 

“Peaches, there seems to be a neighborhood up ahead, I’m gonna go scope it out, you stay put and wait for my signal, yeah?” 

“But, Val,” I start to whine but she trots over to me and plants a kiss on my pouting lips. 

“Stay. Put. You can see me from right here,” she grins and waits for me to nod before heading down the street at a light run. I watch her gracefully take out a handful of Rotters as if it were nothing, before peering around the area. She turns giddily and bounces on the toes of her feet shooting me a thumbs up and a smile. My eyes roll, but I smile nonetheless as I move to join her. 

We continue to meander through the area, keeping an eye out for supplies as we go. There are a few hoards of Rotters wandering through the streets, but for the most part, we are able to avoid them without accident. It’s easy to move silently when I can barely more at all. Val has to keep slowing down to check on me and speeding up to check our surroundings. I feel bad. I feel like a burden.

“Wish we took the truck you stole,” I say when she comes back to me, linking her hand with mine. 

“We were out of gas, Peaches. A car is no use without gas,” she laughs planting a kiss on my cheek. 

“That’s what siphoning is for,” I explain. “I know how to do it.”

“Of course, you do,” she rolls her eyes smiling. “But it’s dangerous.”

“This whole world is dangerous, Val.” She shrugs and notices a neighborhood coming up. 

“I’m going to scope it out,” she starts to walk off but I tug her back to me.

“Stop leaving me behind, I’m coming with you.”

“Juliana—”

“No, I’m coming with you. I can hold my own, please, I can’t keep standing back and worrying about you,” I say gazing at her sincerely. She runs her tongue over her teeth, and looks off in the distance, weighing the options. She doesn’t want to agree. “Please, Val.” I pout. 

“Ugh, I hate when you do that,” she sighs, but pulls me along slowly toward the neighborhood. “Stay behind me, at least, okay?”

“You got it, boss.” I smirk at her, but she rolls her eyes, a trying to disguise a smile. We release hands only when we spot a few Rotters around the neighborhood. She pulls her katanas out and takes out the few on the left of the road, leaving me the ones on the right. I struggle a bit but force my machete to swing through the Rotters neck. It hurts, my body is still sore, but I do my best. Val skips over to me and wipes blood off my face before kissing me softly. 

“Nicely done, Peaches.”

“I’m not totally useless, Valentina,” I sigh. 

“Never said you were, I just want you to heal,” she whispers caressing my cheek. 

“But you can’t baby me, I’ll yell if I need help,” I say leaning into her touch. Suddenly, a cacophony of growls come from a house in the neighborhood. It grows in volume, echoing through the street. Mixed between the growls is a bark followed by whimpers. Val’s eyes grow wide. 

“Is—is that a dog?” She asks, looking toward the sound. 

“Maybe? I can’t tell.” Val starts to move toward the noise. “Wait, we shouldn’t…”

“If there is a poor puppy out here being eaten by Rotters and I don’t save it, I will never forgive myself,” Val says adamantly. “I’ve already watched enough people die, I’m not letting the dog die, too.”

“Okay, love, let’s go,” I say and let her take the lead. She rushes toward the small yellow house a few houses up. Her katanas are out and ready to slice, and I follow carefully behind her. She kicks down the back gate to the house, and from my spot behind her I see the heads of the Rotters turn. The growling gets louder. They rush her. 

I run to her, ready to get any she misses, to help her the best I can. She’s taking care of a handful of them near the back of the yard, and a few start to creep up behind her. I don’t hesitate. My body is protesting, screaming, begging for me to stop. But the image of her getting hurt propels me forward with enough power to take out the few Rotters. Bits of flesh and rotten limbs fall to the ground and stick to my clothes. Blood sprays in the air, coats my blade, and certainly my face. The only thing that my mind is focusing on is Val, her safety. 

Finally, the small hoard that was in the yard are dead—like actually dead this time. Val is panting as she wipes her blades on her pants before sheathing them; I do the same. We both look anxiously around the yard wondering where the barking was coming from when we see a cage. Something’s moving within it and Val rushes to it. 

“Hey there, it’s gonna be okay,” she soothes the whimpering dog. I come up behind Val, eyeing the dog. 

“The dog may have gotten bit, Val…” I say quietly. 

“Then we’re going to check and make sure they’re okay,” she looks at me seriously. I nod and let her let the dog out. The dog slinks out of the cage slowly, eyeing the yard cautiously. We both approach the dog slowly, letting our scents be recognized before starting our search for wounds. The dogs tan and black coat is matted, dirty, and missing tufts of hair in some spots. I can make out old scars that look like scratches and bite marks, but it looks like they’ve healed. 

The dog listens well as we continue our search; sitting when we ask, rolling over when we need to check the belly—well, the dog’s a she. She seems healthy, maybe a little underfed, but no signs of turning into an undead dog. 

“How is that possible…” I murmur watching the dog in awe. She starts licking at Val’s face happily making Val giggling. The dog spots me next and comes bounding happily to me and licks my face. I’m not as pleased as Val. There were a lot of guard dogs around when I was younger; Chino and his associates trained them viciously, and I had been attacked on more than one occasion. “Yes, yes, thank you for the kisses,” I say pushing the dog back gently.

Val is watching us, “this is…out of everything in this world, dogs are immune? The marvels of the animal kingdom.”

“We can’t keep her, Val.”

“Why not? We can’t abandon her either!” 

“There’s barely enough food to feed us, what makes you think there’s enough for a dog?” I point out logically. 

“I don’t care, we’re keeping her. I’ll feed her and look out for her,” Val says stubbornly. “And who has any use for dog food now, anyway? There will be plenty for her. Isn’t that right, my little Marvel.” The dog wags her tail happily, tongue hanging out of her mouth. 

“Oh, no, you didn’t…” I sigh running my hand down my face—my hand comes back covered in blood from the fight. “You named her?” 

“Yes, now you can’t deny me a dog.” 

“Val, my love…” I move toward her carefully. There’s no way we can survive having to look out for each other and a dog. No way. Not when I’m injured. Not when we have such little supplies. 

“No, don’t ‘my love’ me, Peaches,” she holds her finger up and points at me. “Marvel and I are a package deal. Both of us, or neither of us.” 

“You can’t be serious!” 

“Does this face look like it’s joking,” she sets a vacant gaze on me, lips pressed into a thin line. Her stance statuesque and, honestly, intimidating. Even if I didn’t know her prowess with katanas, I wouldn’t fuck with her. “Both of us, or you don’t get me.” 

It’s a losing battle. 

“Fine, but you’re feeding her,” I say before heading into the house. 

“Yes! Here that girl, you get to stay with me and Peaches.” A soft bark falls from the dog’s lips. 

“We cleared the neighborhood, we might as well stay here tonight. There’s gotta be something to eat.” 

“Hey,” Val says as her and Marvel catches up to me. I turn, quirking an eyebrow in questions. She kisses my lips softly. “I love you.” 

“I love you, Val,” I smile through a laugh. 

“We’re in this together,” she says presses her forehead against mine. 

“Me and you,” I whisper. 

“And Marvel.” 

“Us and Marvel,” I correct myself; the smile Val gives me melts my heart. 

“I like the sound of that,” she kisses me again. She reaches down and pets Marvel’s head. Marvel leans against my leg as she receives affection from Val. “Us.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out the moodboard I made for this story/chapter here! [Something Wild Moodboard](https://zags96.tumblr.com/post/183868033808/something-wild-by-zags96-part-iv-chapter)
> 
> And! The masterlist for all moodboards for this book! [ Something Wild Moodboard Masterlist ](https://zags96.tumblr.com/post/184280588738/something-wild-by-zags96-summary-five-years)
> 
> Also, feel free to follow my [tumblr](https://zags96.tumblr.com/)
> 
>  
> 
> Also, also, this is a tumblr I made with a friend, we post juliantina moodboards! [juliantina-moodboards tumblr](https://juliantina-moodboards.tumblr.com)
> 
>    
> Overal fic [Something Wild Moodboard](https://juliantina-clexa.tumblr.com/post/183540828673/something-wild-by-zags96-we-do-what-we-have-to)


	14. Part IV: Chapter Fourteen

Val, Marvel, and I spent a couple days in the neighborhood scavenging through the houses for food and other supplies. We were able to find enough to keep moving from the area, which is good since there was a hoard heading our way; slowly, but still. There was no point staying somewhere that we’re at a higher risk. After a few days of not much activity, my body was starting to come around and heal, thankfully. I was beginning to feel absolutely useless to Val. She has Marvel now. Not that I’m feeling replaced by a dog, though Val is giving her ample attention and I’m left meandering at the back of the group. 

But no, not feeling replaced. Not in the slightest

“This dog is amazing, Peaches,” Val turns around grinning as we walk through the streets of yet another abandoned town. “She already knows the basic commands.” Val stops and asks Marvel to sit, lay down, roll over, and play dead. “She’s a Marvel, really!” 

“Yes, truly a talented dog,” I roll my eyes and keep walking through the town.

“Aw, don’t be so grumpy, Peaches.” Val smiles at me, before kissing my cheek gently. I look away trying to maintain my grumpy expression, by it melts away without hesitation. Marvel trots over to us and nudges my leg with her head. “She wants you to pet her.” 

“Val, come on…” 

“You know you love her, Juli. Don’t act so tough all the time,” Val rolls her eyes playfully. Marvel nudges my leg again, eyes looking up at me expectantly. Val’s expression matches Marvel’s. 

“Fine,” I sigh and reach down scratching Marvel behind her ear. Marvel’s tongue lolls out of her mouth happily as she basks in the affection that I’m giving her. An involuntary smile falls on my lips. 

“I knew you liked her,” Val sings as she starts to walk ahead of us again. 

“I never said I didn’t,” I grumble as Marvel and I follow her. “We have enough to worry about without having to worry about a dog too, Val. That’s all I’m saying.”

“Listen, the world may have gone to shit, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to abandon a helpless dog in the middle of it,” Val points out. I sigh again, knowing full well that this argument is futile. She’s happy having Marvel in her life now, it’s the most excited I’ve seen her since…well, since she had to kill her family to save me. I’ve already made her suffer with that, I can’t ask her to give up the dog too. It’s not fair. It’d be another thing Val had to do because of me; another thing that would make her suffer even more. And, sure, I don’t totally think that having a dog is the best call right now, in this world, but if it makes her happy, if it heals part of her heart, then who am I to take that from her? Haven’t I already taken enough?

“Where are we heading?” I ask changing the subject as guilt starts to gnaw at my insides. I try to trample it down, to bury it beneath the happiness I feel when I remember our kiss from the other day. But no amount of light touches, stolen kisses, and soft smiles can bury the mountain of guilt that has built up within me. 

“Wherever the road takes us,” Val gestures grandly at the open road ahead of us. Ransacked cars, dead bodies, and varying degrees of trash litter the road. Marvel starts to paw at the ground in front of us. She turns her head back at us as she does so. “What is she doing?” 

I shrug, “your guess is as good as mine.” Marvel comes back toward us, pawing again at our feet, before turning back around and pawing again. Val and I keep walking ahead ignoring Marvel’s behavior. 

Val and I are goofing around as we walk. The road appears empty, not a soul or soulless in sight. Just us and our dog. She’s trying to teach me how to use her butterfly knife. I keep accidentally throwing it out of my hand and almost stabbing her with it. She laughs every time, like imminent danger and a potential stabbing is nothing out of the ordinary. I—well, okay, I guess it isn’t out of the ordinary any more. 

We’re too distracted to notice Marvel’s barely audible whimper. Or the way she paws heavily at the ground now, not as gently as she had before. Or the sound groans coming from all sides. No, we’re far too distracted staring into each other’s eyes wanting nothing more than our privacy and the touch of the other. 

Marvel let’s out a bark that draws our attention, and unfortunately, the attention of the hoard of Rotters that have appeared around us. They’re closing in on all sides, and we’ll no doubt be surrounded soon. 

“Shit,” I say reaching for my machete. 

Val grins wickedly, “it’s just another day in the apocalypse. You ready, Peaches?” 

“Just don’t get hurt, please.” 

“I should be saying that to you,” she laughs, pulling her katanas out. “You have quite the track record, love.” I roll my eyes before we get to work on the Rotters around us. I take my time, push and slicing one at a time. I can’t take on more than that. Not with how out of shape I am at this point; not with the bruising on my abdomen still. But there’s nothing more I can do but fight through the pain. Out of the corner of my eye I see Val fighting through a large group. She spins, kicks, and swings her katanas like they are an extension of her body; like this’s performing the most intricate ballet to ever be seen and I’m just lucky enough to have gotten front row seats—amidst the blood and rotten flesh that is. 

All of a sudden, I hear a growl from beneath me and Marvel comes shooting out, lunging for the Rotters necks. She rips at their throats dragging them to the ground until their head pulls off their body and rolls away. Marvel charges for another Rotter. 

“And you didn’t want a dog!” Valentina yells. I can hear the cocky smirk in her voice. 

“How was I supposed to know she would rip a Rotters head off!” I shout back, decapitating a few more on my own. 

“Behind you!” Val yells and it’s almost too late. Honestly, if Marvel wasn’t there, I would be totally dead. I turn around quickly, but the Rotter is so close, I don’t have room to swing without leaving myself open to its attack. Stumbling backward, I try to avoid the grasps of the Rotters around me. 

Goddamn it, I can’t let this be the end, I think angrily knocking away the arms of Rotters near me. Marvel comes bounding toward me, teeth bared, blood dripping from her teeth. She barrels into the Rotters, paws pushing them down at their chests. The sheer force knocks their rotten heads off their bodies. She powers through them with ease, giving me more room to take out the remaining Rotters on my side without another incident. 

We’re panting, sweaty, and drenched in who-knows-what. Bodies and various limbs scattered around the road, blood pooling all over the place. Marvel gives us her best grin. 

“Maybe having a dog isn’t such a bad thing,” I say, laughter tumbling out of my mouth. 

“She’s got out back, isn’t that right, girl?” Val asks crouching in front of Marvel; she barks quietly and wags her tail happily. Val uses her shirt to wipe the blood from her snout. Marvel gives her a kiss before trotting over to me, nuzzling my leg. 

“Thanks, Marvel,” I say patting her head. “We’ve got your back, too.” Her tag wages faster.

“Come on, your body cannot be holding up well after that,” Val extends her arm to me, wrapping it lovingly around my waist. “Let’s get you somewhere safe, Peaches.” 

*** 

We find an abandoned building not too far off the highway we were traveling on. Really, I found it, Val was insistent that I was imagining things. But here we were in this little store tucked away behind some brush and fallen trees. It’s well stocked too, probably because no one noticed it here before.

Val made me stay inside the store, despite my protests, after we cleared it together. Her and Marvel disappear out the front door to scope the surroundings and make sure we’re safe for the night before continuing our travels. I take the chance to set my bag down and l meander around the store. The aisles are a mess, food litters the floor, dust and debris coat the counters. My footsteps leave prints through the dirt on the ground as I grab handfuls of snacks to eat. We’ve been surviving off cans of beans and vegetables, and as good as it is for us, if I have to eat another can of that mush I’m going to vomit. 

I’ve made a decent pile of food near the back corner of the store and started making a make-shift bed for us to sleep on. I use our jackets and bags of clothes on the floor to give us something relatively soft to sleep on that’s better than the hard tile. Granted, this is going to be killer on my body after getting used to sleeping on beds. We’ve had it cushy thus far in the apocalypse. It was bound to come crashing down at some point. 

There’s a rattling near the back door of the building. Something falls with a thud and I can hear whispers. Immediately, I hide in behind a rack of food, peering through the grates waiting for the intruders to appear. 

Another crash comes, and I reach for my machete only to find it not attached to my belt like it normally is. Which is just freaking great. Where the hell is Val? 

I panic as the intruders come into the room, their footsteps louder than before. I grab the first thing I can find—a pack of cookies; at least they’re dense—and throw them at the intruders. 

“Ow, what the—” I hear a voice say, “Peaches, really? Cookies?” 

“Val?” I say popping up from behind the rack. “You scared me! I thought you were a bandit or something.” 

“So, you thought you’d scare me off with the power of chocolate chip cookies?” 

“Yes?” I shrug, “I didn’t have any other weapon.” 

“What would you do without me, Peaches?” She laughs and walks over to me, Marvel appearing behind her. 

“I’d be just fine.” 

“Mhm,” she nods, a smirk tugging at her lips. She rests her hands lightly on my hips, pulling me closer to her slowly. 

“I’m capable of taking care of myself,” I huff. 

“Do I need to remind you how we met?” She challenges. 

“No, I was there, Val,” I roll my eyes. “But I could have gotten myself out of that.” 

“Of course, you could’ve, but we wouldn’t have met if you had,” Val rests her forehead against mine. 

“What a pity that would have been,” I tease before pressing my lips chastely to hers. I go to pull back, but Val chases my lips, pressing herself more firmly against me. Laughing, I pull away more seriously, “I gathered us a little picnic,” I say gesturing toward the pile of junk food. Val pouts at the loss of contact, but I just guide her to our cozy corner. We spend the night curled into each other eating junk food with Marvel resting at our feet. I sneak Marvel food when I think Val isn't looking, but by the sly smirk that spreads across her face, I know I've been caught. But I just don't care. 

My mind wanders to what Val said earlier about getting me somewhere safe. I gaze at the side of Val’s face as she feeds bits of food to Marvel. She’s tossing it in the air for Marvel to catch, quietly cheering when she succeeds. I’d go where she goes; where Val is, that’s where I feel safest, and I don’t want to give that up.


	15. Part IV: Chapter Fifteen

“Do you even know where we’re going exactly?” Val asks the next day as we continue to head north.

“North.”

“Yes, that’s obvious,” she says pointing at the sign that read 95 North. “But all you know is north?”

“I know more, just not about the location…specifically,” I explain peering over at her. She tilts her head curiously waiting for me to continue. “My dad, Chino, worked with a lot shady people, one of them being a guy, Alacran. He makes Chino look like an amateur compared to what he does to people. There was a lot of talk in the Q-zone I lived in about a ruthless bandit group up north ran by a man with the same name; Alacran. It could be the same guy, could be someone different. But I have no doubt that this is where my mom would have headed to find Chino.”

“Your plan is to head north until we find them?”

“It’s not so much of a plan as it is wishful thinking,” I shrug. “Look, this group, Alacran and his men, are entirely new breed of assholes. They will do anything and everything it takes to survive in this world.”

“Won’t we all?” Val asks, but I shake my head.

“No, they take it to a different extreme,” I reply, gazing around at the abandoned cars on the highway we walk on. “We would never kill an innocent person just for their supplies, just because we could. They get high off torturing people, killing them, robbing them, and—well—raping them. They don’t care about people the way we do, Valentina. They won’t hesitate.

“Do you know how many stories I’ve heard, how many people that have been sent on scouting trips to never come back?” I ask her, a shiver runs down my spine at the amount of lies we’ve lost to them. “They’re not to be fucked with, Val, and they’re not to be taken lightly.”

“And your sure your mom would’ve come up this way?”

“Yes,” I nod, “it’s the only place she ever thought Chino would’ve ended up.”

“Okay,” Val says walking beside me. “ Then I’ve got your back, Peaches.”

“Even though I could very well be leading us directly into danger?”

“Look around,” Val says, opening her arms wide and looking around, “we’re constantly leading ourselves into danger.”

“I guess, but this is higher stakes, Val, these are humans that are beyond ruthless and won’t give us the chance to get close enough with our melee weapons.” Val stops walking and turns around to face me, resting her hands on my shoulders. Gone is the easy-going smile and soft blue eyes, in their place is a seriousness that I’ve only seen a handful of times since meeting her.

“We are going to get through this together,” she says, her eyes boring into mine. “I am not going to leave your side, okay?”

“You know that’s not feasible, Valentina.”

“I’m not leaving you, I’m not losing another damn person to this world, do you hear me? I don’t care who I have to fight, I will do it to be with you,” she says adamantly, tears forming in the corners of her eyes.

“I know, I will too, but we have to be realistic,” I say carefully. “If anything were to happen to either of us, like the last time we ran into bandits, if there’s too many, if we can’t fight our way out. We need a plan.”

“Juliana, please don’t make me think about this…” She shakes her head pulling her arms away and wrapping them around herself.

“We need a plan, Val, we can’t postpone this.”

“Where you go, I go,” Val says, the tone of her voice signals the finality of it. I nod, letting the conversation go.

We continue down the highway. I stay quiet, watching as Val and Marvel run around. It’s cute, really. Having Marvel gives Val some semblance of a family that she’s lost, a familial love that is given and received between her and Marvel. She smiles more, though sometimes I can see her turn to someone that isn’t there; it’s usually Guille. His name dies on her tongue whenever something funny happens that she wants to share, or she takes out a Rotter in a completely unnecessarily extra way. I wish I could have seen their relationship in person, seen what kind of a man he was to earn such admiration from his little sister.

There are times where I catch her crying, I know she doesn’t want me to see, doesn’t want to talk about it yet. Maybe we should, maybe she should tell me the good times, keep their memory alive. Just because their gone, doesn’t mean they need to be forgotten. But I’m scared to say anything, scared to upset her. So, I just stay quiet, and keep an eye on her the best I can.

I never met her family, never even knew more than the bare minimum that Val had told me. But the moment that she shot them, the moment they lay dead dead next to me, I made a promise to them; all of them. I will do everything I can to be there for Val, and everything I can to protect her, just like I know they would.

But that doesn’t change the fact that we need a plan, something to do in case we get split up, taken…killed. It’s not an idea that I like swimming around my head. Picturing myself and Valentina separated from one another in any facet is painful theoretically, I don’t want to imagine the pain if it were to be real. Sometimes we have to do difficult things, and this is one of those times.

If she doesn’t want to figure out a plan, then I will, I think to myself just as Val and Marvel come running towards me, both looking exponentially happy. I smile and greet them both warmly. Whatever I need to do to keep her safe, I’ll do it.

***

The sun is starting to set in the sky, casting a warm glow on the world around us. We’re nearing a town hoping to find a place to settle for the night. I’m exhausted, my body still aches, and I managed to twist the wrong way during a small scuffle with some Rotters and pulled an already pissed off muscle in my abdomen. At this point, I’m over being awake and would just like a snack and some sleep.

This world had other things planned for me.

As we edge toward town, Marvel begins to paw at the ground. This time, Val and I understand the silent meaning of it. Whoever trained this dog is a genius and would never have intentionally left her behind; she’s too valuable.

“What is Marvel?” Valentina asks as we both come to a halt. Marvel paws at the ground more intensely facing the right side of the road. Val and I take note and duck behind a building, peering out around a corner. I have my hand on Marvel’s collar to keep her close. Her paw begins to rapidly, silently, hit the ground. And then a truck appears.

There are several men in standing in the bed of the truck as it slowly rolls through town. Their chattering voices echo through the quiet that surrounds us. Neither Val or I move, both of us holding our breaths waiting for the threat to pass. The energy that radiates of the men is tense, angry, and far darker than the one’s we’ve encountered before. My gut is screaming that this is bad, this is dangerous; we need to run. But I’m afraid that if we make a single noise, they will find us, and they will kill us. So, I stay still and silent, listening as they roll past the building we’re hiding behind.

“We’ve gotta find something to bring back to him,” one of the men says from the bed of the truck. “If we show up empty handed, we’re fucking dead.”

“He needs to get that pipe out of his ass and calm down,” another one calls out; several of them chuckle in agreement. “We have plenty of supplies, clothes, and women. He’s being too demanding, he has no idea what he’s doing.”

“Be careful what you say, Lucho,” a third man says.

“What’s Alacran going to do, Johny? He needs me,” Lucho says arrogantly. I watch in horror as the third man, Johny, lifts a gun up and points it in Lucho’s face.

“You’re expendable,” Johny shrugs, and pulls the trigger. I bite my lip hard trying to contain the gasp that was going to fall from my mouth. “Anyone else want to question Alacran?” There’s a resounding chorus of no’s and Johny nods.

The truck rolls on until their voices fade and Marvel’s pawing ceases. Valentina and I are left trying to piece together everything we just overheard and witnessed. My lungs are struggling to pull air in, and I can faintly feel Val’s hand on my elbow turning me around. But it all seems so far away; so distant.

“If Alacran is here that means—” Val starts to say.

“My mom has to be here, and Chino…” I suck in another bit of air, eyes meeting Val’s. “We found them.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so here’s the thing. You’re gonna hate me soon. And even more after that. But I mean, when things in an apocalypse don’t go super well all the time. So, with that in mind, enjoy the little bit of cute moments these two have....


	16. Part IV: Chapter Sixteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just...I'm sorry

Val and I high tail it out of the town as soon as the coast is clear. We head back the direction we came from hoping that it’s safer that way and we won’t run into the bandits again. Eventually, after back tracking for a while, we find a small neighborhood that feels safe enough; as safe as it can be anyway. We’ve gotten our system worked out between the two of us when it comes to clearing areas, and it’s even easy with Marvel now. She alerts us to danger, whether it be Rotters or bandits, she hasn’t been wrong yet. So clearing areas takes half the time it used to; Marvel gives us the go ahead, then Val and I scavenge the house for supplies. 

“This is the last house, should we just stay here?” Valentina asks as Marvel sniffs around the living room of the house. I run my hands along the dust coated banister of the staircase and nod. 

“Yeah, why not,” I shrug and set my bag down. “I’m gonna dig around upstairs.”

“Do you—” 

“Alone.” I turn and head up the stairs. I need to be alone for a minute, my mind has been racing since I heard those thugs say Alacran’s name; since I watched that man get shot in the face. I can’t get the image out of my head. From everything I’ve heard from my parents, I know that Alacran is not someone to be messed with. But there’s no doubt in my mind that Chino came up this way with Alacran, and that my mom followed him here. Which means that they are apart of this bandit group; this horrendous group of people who don’t hesitate to kill those who get in their way. It’s either that or they’re dead…

Nope, not thinking that, I push the thought out of my head. But, honestly, what would be worse? That they’re dead or that they participate in the murders of innocent people? There’s no way to know, but I’m sure Chino has no problem killing people, but Lupe? She’s always been against his line of work, but she loves him so blindly. Maybe she’d kill for him too, but I hope she wouldn’t. 

Upstairs, it’s dark as the sun sets outside, taking away much of the light. I move around the bedrooms digging through draws, closets, trying to find anything of use. Val doesn’t want to consider the possibility that we may get separated, that we need a plan. But I can’t go into this without one. I know how Alacran works, I spent my childhood watching Chino, Alacran, and their men creating plans, discussing victories, cleaning weapons. I know how they operate; and they are ruthless no matter what; it doesn’t matter that we’re young women. That was their type before the apocalypse, and that would no doubt be more of their type now considering a shortage in people. 

I find a box of bullets in a draw that I can put in my pistol. It’s been sorely lacking since my escape from the Q-zone. As I gaze at the box, I notice that they’re not actual bullets, their blanks. And an idea forms in my head. They may not be helpful when in a sticky situation with the bandits, but they can help call the attention of a hoard without actually wasting ammo. There’s no way the bandits can take out a massive hoard, especially if I can pull it off with Screechers nearby, maybe even a Goliath. Even if the bandits can hold them off, they’ll be distracted and we can get away. 

It’s not a solid plan; it’s not even a good plan. But it’s a plan nonetheless, something I didn’t have before. So, I go back downstairs and load the blanks into my pistol, placing it on the table beside Val’s before going to look for her. 

She’s out back with Marvel. I come up behind her, wrapping my arms around her waist and resting my chin on her shoulder. “Hey,” I say. 

“You okay?” 

“I just needed a minute alone,” I explain; she nods, keeping her eyes on Marvel as she trots around the yard sniffing the ground. “I’m sorry if I was snappy.”

“I understand, you’re worried about your parents.” 

“And us.” Val turns around in my arms and presses her lips against my forehead. 

“Why are you worried about us?” Her brows furrow. I sigh and tuck my head into the crook of her neck and ignore the question. A body rubs against my leg and I know Marvel has found her way over to us. “Peaches?”

“You know, Chino has killed people. I know that, I mean he was a hitman after all. He can hold his own; I don’t know about my mom, but I can only hope she’s okay,” I say pulling away her neck. “And I know you can hold your own, too. But these people…they’re capable of so much worse than the Rotters. I don’t want to lose you. If they—if they get you…the things they’ll do to you Val…I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.”

“They’re not going to get me.”

“You can’t know that for sure.” 

“No, but I would never leave you without a fight,” she tucks a piece of my hair behind my ear. 

“I need you to promise me something,” I lock my eyes onto hers. She doesn’t say anything, so I continue. “Promise me that if they get me, you’ll run. You’ll run and leave me behind.”

“Juls, I can’t—” 

“Please.”

“Would you leave me behind if they had me?” She challenges. 

“Only if I were dead.” 

“Then I’m not leaving you behind, Juliana. I’ve lost enough people already, I’m not losing you, too,” she touches her forehead against mine. “I will fight to the death to get to you, that I will promise.”

“Me too,” I whisper back, tears welling in my eyes. “I love you.”

“I love you, Peaches,” she smiles softly. “Let’s go to bed, yeah?” 

“Always trying to get me into bed with you,” I tease pulling away, and tugging her inside, Marvel following us. Valentina laughs. 

“Trying? Peaches, we know I’d succeed if I actually tried,” she smirks when I turn around to roll my eyes at her. 

“You’re so cocky.” 

“But you love me,” she says with a cheeky grin. 

“Yeah, I do.” I kiss her quickly before we ascend the stairs for the night.  
*** 

I wake up in the morning and Valentina is gone. I’m out of the bed and fully dressed quickly, panic rising in my chest. Rushing down the stairs, I want to call out her name. Maybe she’s somewhere nearby, but I don’t want to risk calling attention to my position if something or someone is nearby. My heart is pounding in my chest, sweat collecting in my palms. 

“Where is she, come on, where is she,” I mutter hastily moving around the house and not finding her. “Goddamn it,” I curse and head back to the living room where my backpack rests. Hers is gone. Which is a good sign, that means she went somewhere willingly. Right? 

Next to my bag is a table where I placed my—

“Pistol,” I finish my sentence out loud. Except, the pistol sitting on the table isn’t mine. It's Val’s. Which means… “Oh fuck.” 

She can’t have gone far. I should be able to find her if I look hard enough. Or maybe I should stay here for when she comes back? If she comes back…Okay, no, not thinking like that. I’ll leave a note, and then go look for her. I’m scribbling a note out on the back of a map to leave on the table when I hear the sound of paws running my way. 

“Marvel?” I call out and she rushes into the house. Alone. “Marvel, where’s Val?” She whimpers, pawing at the ground anxiously. She grabs at my shirt and starts tugging me with her. This isn’t good. I grab my bag and pistol and let Marvel lead me through the street. Despite the protest my body is giving me, I push myself to run faster as Marvel rushes forward. Neither of us stop or hesitate. My brain runs through all the possible situations Valentina could be in. Surrounded by Rotters. Trapped in a house. Captured by bandits. Fuck, even worse, captured by Alacran’s men. 

Marvel runs out of the neighborhood and stops short. I do too. In the middle of the road is a large mismatched truck. Several men stand around it, guns in their hands, cocky smirks on their faces. Valentina stand in the middle of then, Alacran has a gun pressed to her head. My gun. 

“Juliana, run!” Val yells, only to get pistol whipped by Alacran. 

“Shut up, bitch,” he says coldly. Blood drips down the corner of Val’s mouth. I want to run to her, save her. But it’s seven against one girl and a dog. There’s no way I can get to her. The only thing on my side right now is that the gun in Alacran’s hand is mine. 

“Let her go, Alacran,” I say firmly, stepping toward them, signaling for Marvel to stay back. She whimpers but complies. 

“Why should I?” He challenges, running his hand over her face. Val tries to pull away, but he grabs her chin. “She’s quite beautiful, isn’t she? She’ll make a great addition to the women we have back at camp. Our men get…urges often. I think she’ll satisfy them very well.” 

“Don’t fucking touch her!” I scream pulling my gun out aiming it at him. Immediately, all the guns at aimed at me. 

“Juliana, leave me, save yourself!” Valentina screams. 

“Over my dead body,” I growl keeping my aim on Alacran’s head.

“That can be arranged,” Alacran shrugs, point the gun at me. 

“No!” Val yells fighting against the men that are holding her back. 

“I won’t let you take her without a fight,” I say calmly stepping toward him again. “Call your men off, Alacran. Make it a fair fight.” 

“And why would I do that? When I can just do this,” he says and then he pulls the trigger. 

Time slows for a moment, my mind rushes to figure out a plan. I hear Valentina screaming. Fighting to be let go. I know what I have to do.  
I collapse to the ground. 

“Juliana, no! Please, no!” 

I don’t move, I stay completely still. Pain radiates through my body. I can Valentina crying, screaming my name again and again. Their truck starts drowning out the noise of Val’s screaming, and then they’re gone. I wait a few more moments before sitting up. 

“I’ll find you, Val. I promise,” I whisper before calling to Marvel. Val’s going to be destroyed, she’s going to blame herself for my death, just like she did with her family. But it’s the only plan I could come up with in such a short time. They think I’m dead, they won’t be expecting me to come save her. 

The moans of Rotters approach due to the sound of the gun shot. I have to move quickly if I’m going to make it out alive, if I’m going to find Valentina. And I am going to save Valentina.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out the moodboard I made for this story/chapter here! [Something Wild Moodboard](https://zags96.tumblr.com/post/183963803203/something-wild-by-zags96-part-iv-chapter-sixteen)
> 
> And! The masterlist for all moodboards for this book! [ Something Wild Moodboard Masterlist ](https://zags96.tumblr.com/post/184280588738/something-wild-by-zags96-summary-five-years)
> 
> Also, feel free to follow my [tumblr](https://zags96.tumblr.com/)
> 
>  
> 
> Also, also, this is a tumblr I made with a friend, we post juliantina moodboards! [juliantina-moodboards tumblr](https://juliantina-moodboards.tumblr.com)
> 
>    
> Overal fic [Something Wild Moodboard](https://juliantina-clexa.tumblr.com/post/183540828673/something-wild-by-zags96-we-do-what-we-have-to)


	17. Part V: Chapter Seventeen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is gonna be a bit heavy, and there are implications of sexual assault as a warning. 
> 
> Also, this chapter will be from Val's POV

**VALENTINA'S POV**

I just wanted a drink; an alcoholic one. Someone in this wasteland has to have alcohol somewhere, at least I hoped. I left Juls sleeping in bed. It’s the afternoon, and I know I should have asked her to come with me. But, for once, she looked happy, peaceful, and not like she was feeling the pain I’m positive radiates throughout her body with every step she takes. I have Marvel with me, and she’ll be sure to alert me to danger, so I won’t be in harms way.

Well, I thought so anyway.

I found a house in the adjacent neighborhood with cabinets filled with hard liquor; whiskey, tequila, vodka, and some with foreign names I couldn’t even process to name. I’ve fallen down this spiral before. When dad died—when I killed him. Before we left the house, I packed my bag with more alcohol than useful supplies. Those first couple weeks, I spent the nights stealing swigs from the bottles in my bag; spent the days wandering with hangovers and curing them with more alcohol.

This was omitted from the version of the story I told Juliana.

Who would want to travel with an alcohol dependent mess?

I was fine after I met her, if I’m being honest with myself. I didn’t want to drink as much; the desire was there but it wasn’t the beast it was before. Then—then I had to kill the rest of my family to save her.

I don’t blame Juliana. She looked as if she was going to accept her death rather than ask me to kill the remains of my family. But they were already gone; they weren’t my family anymore. At least, that’s what I keep telling myself.

Their faces haunt me.

Not the undead, rotten ones. Those aren’t the ones my brain manifests when I think about them; that moment. I see Guille’s smiling face, Eva’s concerned eyes, Lucia’s warm presence. I see my family as three bullets, that I shot, tear through their heads. And I can’t sleep thinking about that. I can’t sleep even with Juliana nestled tightly against my side. I can’t sleep even with Marvel keeping guard by our feet. I can’t sleep without seeing their bodies falling to the ground, blood pooling around them.

I can’t sleep without a drink.

So, I snuck out. Left Juliana cuddled happily in bed while I run around this decrepit neighborhood to find alcohol. I’m not stupid; I know how horrible this all is, how horrible is sounds. But I wasn’t expecting this trip to turn into anything more than finding a bottle of booze to drown myself in. At least for a little while I wouldn’t feel so much guilt, so much pain. At least I could get some kind of rest.

What I didn’t plan for was the familiar sound of a truck rolling through the neighborhood.

I didn’t plan to send Marvel away to get Juliana.

I didn’t plan to be found by Alacran’s men in that house—apparently, I’m not the only one looking for alcohol.

I didn’t plan for this. I should’ve known better.

“Looks like we got a fresh one, Alacran,” the men ogle me as I’m dragged toward the truck.

“I know that bitch.” One of them calls out. “Her and her friend got away from us awhile back.” Alacran steps out from the truck, dropping a cigarette to the ground and crushing it under his boot.

“Where’s your friend, darling?” He asks coming closer to me. One of his men has my hands held tightly behind my back as Alacran walks around me.

“I’m not telling you shit,” I growl fighting against the hold.

“You sure about that?” He reaches out, his hand slithering under my shirt, pulling free the pistol I was hoping they wouldn’t find there. Alacran cocks the gun and places the barrel against my head.  
“What about now?”

“Never.” I press my forehead harder against the barrel. “I’d rather be fucking dead than tell you where she is.”

“I’m sure we’ll find her,” he smirks. “Men, spread out, she has to be around her somewhere—” His eyes light up as he looks to the left and my gaze follows his. Marvel and Juliana stand further down the road, both frozen in their spot. I feel bile rising in my throat.

“Juliana, run!” I yell. Alacran pulls his arm back and hits be with the butt of the pistol. I taste blood in my mouth.

“Shut up, bitch.” Blood is dripping down my chin.

“Let her go, Alacran,” Juliana says loudly; she starts moving toward us. I want to run to her. I want to tell her I’m sorry for leaving her behind, for thinking that alcohol was a better reward than her love.

“Why should I?” He challenges, running his hand over my face. His calloused hands rub roughly against my skin. I try to pull away, but he grabs my chin harshly. “She’s beautiful, isn’t she? She’ll make a great addition to the women we have back at camp. Our men get…urges often. I think she’ll satisfy them very well.”

“Don’t fucking touch her!” Juliana screams pulling a gun out aiming it at him. Immediately, all the guns at aimed at her.

“Juliana, leave me, save yourself!” I scream. She has to listen to me. She needs to listen to me; I can’t lose her too. I can’t be the reason someone else is dead. I love her, I can’t lose her.

“Over my dead body,” Juliana growls, her gun aimed at Alacran.

“That can be arranged,” Alacran shrugs, point the gun at her.

“No!” I yell fighting against the men that are holding me back.

“I won’t let you take her without a fight,” she says calmly stepping toward him again. “Call your men off, Alacran. Make it a fair fight.”

“And why would I do that? When I can just do this,” he says and then he pulls the trigger.

I scream, thrashing against the bodies holding me back. I scream for her. I watch in horror as she falls back and hits the ground with a weightless thud.

“Juliana, no! Please, no!”

“Pack her up, let’s get outta her.” Alacran demands. His men comply, tying my hands up and gagging me before tossing me into the back seat of the truck. Blood and tears mix together as they both rain down my face. My heart aches. I feel empty. I’ve lost everyone. They’re all dead because of me. Every single person I loved in this world is dead because of my actions.

Maybe, if I’m lucky, these men will kill me too.

***

Back before the world had gone to shit, I used to watch crime shows with Guille sometimes. The characters would say that if you were kidnapped and taken somewhere else, if your kidnappers let you see where you were going…they didn’t intend to keep you alive.

I know exactly how to get back to neighborhood where Juliana’s body lay dead in the street. But I don’t think I’ll be alive long enough to give her a proper burial. I send a silent hope to Marvel, that she’ll find another loving couple of people to take care of her like we had.

Maybe someone has already found her and taken her in. I can only hope.

The truck comes to a halt and shouting fills the air. I peer out the window and see a large gate and fence, behind it a tall haphazardly made tower and several structures in the same state.

This must be their camp.

The gate clangs open leaving enough room for the truck to roll into the camp. Alacran’s men mill around the camp, guns strapped to their bodies, man-made blades hanging from their hands. Their dirty, blood stained, and grinning wickedly at me through the window. I try to train my face into an impassive expression; I don’t want to show them fear. But that’s all I can feel right now as my heart thrums heavily against my ribs, begging me to run, to fight, to find Juliana.

 _She’s dead,_ Val, I think, a painful ache reverberates in my chest. It doesn’t seem real, except for the very real image of her collapsing after the gun shot that keeps replaying my mind. She’s dead. And it’s my fault.

“Let’s go,” a man says flinging the door open and tugging me out to the ground. I stumble out and crash to the ground unable to keep my balance. My face hits the ground reopening the wounds from earlier; blood and dirt fill my mouth. “Stand up.”

I lay there on the ground, giving up.

“I said, stand up, are you fucking deaf?” The man yells coming closer to me. He crouches in front of me, pulling my head back by my hair roughly forcing me to look at him. “Do as your fucking told, and this will go a lot better for you.”

I spit in his face. “Fuck you.” He swipes his face with his free hand before backhanding me across the face. His knuckles harshly cut across my cheek, creating a new wound that pours blood down my face.

“Are you going to listen, or are you going to be a problem?” He growls, his voice low and menacing. I don’t flinch; I keep a steady gaze with his. “Oh, you think you’re tough, eh? Wanna know what we do to tough bitches? We break them. We destroy every last hope they feel until they are nothing but a submissive mess. No one is coming to save you, girly.”

A hand yanks me off the ground, setting me on my feet.

“Johny,” Alacran’s voice calls from behind me, “take her to others.”

“It’s your lucky day,” the man in front of me, Johny, grins. “You get off the hook for now.” He starts to lead me away from the truck and the other men toward an area that’s less crowded. When I walk too slow he shoves me further ahead, leaving me to stumble and fall every now and again. My hands are bloody from scrapping them on the ground one too many times. My cheek aches from where he hit me, blood still falls slowly from my cuts. Around us are small buildings made of scrap metal and wood that they must have gathered over the years. It’s a shitty little compound, but it’s well guarded. There’s no way I could escape on my own. But that doesn’t mean I won’t try.

“Hey, Johny, new meat?” A man yells, whistling my way.

“This one’s not on the market yet,” Johny turns to say and I take the chance to run. I don’t make it very far. My feet are heavy, my body aches, and with my hands still tied together, my balance is garbage. I stumble. Trip. And crash to the ground.

“On second thought,” Johny says, his boots heavily stomping my way. He hoists me up from the ground and drags me toward the building the other man was standing in front of. The other man smirks wolfishly at me, baring his teeth like he can’t wait to sink his teeth into my skin. Johny and the man exchange a wicked look, “Why don’t you help me break this one in?”

***

They toss me into a small structure when their done with me. I don’t feel like I’m in my own body. Everything aches. The door slams shut with a clatter behind me. I collapse to the floor curling up into a ball. Voices flit in and out of my ears. Slowly my eyes adjust to the dim light in the room and I see several women moving slowly toward me.

“It’s okay,” one of them says as she kneels beside me. She tucks piece of her blonde hair behind her ear before reaching out to me. “They’re gone for now, it’ll be okay.”

No words fall from my lips. No sound other than the broken sobs that I kept in during the assault. I stayed strong, silent. I tried to fight but it didn’t do me any good. Bruises bloom across my body, old cuts reopened, dried blood covers my face.

“Let’s clean you up, okay?” Another women says gently as she comes over with a small bucket and a rag. She reaches out and tries to touch me.

“No!” I scream and flinch away from her touch. “Don’t—please, don’t—” More sobs fall from my lips.

“Shh,” she whispers. “I know, we all know. I wish I could tell you it gets better. I wish I could say it ends and they never come back. I can’t, thought. But I can tell you we—” she gestures to the women that are in this building, “—we will take care of you. We take care of each other. You can trust us.”

“Please,” I beg her, “please, just let me die. I want to be with her, with my family. Please.”

“I know, I know,” she soothes picking the rag back up again, slowly running it over my face, cleaning it off. “You don’t have to fight, or stay strong, or stay alive. Just let me take care of you for now, okay?”

I don’t fight her off anymore. I let myself cry and feel the pain. Isn’t that what I deserve? Everyone in my life that I have loved has died because of me. I have watched them all die. Each image burned in my mind.

My dad. Guille. Eva. Lucia. Juliana…

The woman gently cleans my wounds, the water feel rejuvenating, but I don’t want that. I want to suffer in the same way my loved ones had. It’s my fault they’re dead. It’s my fault, I could’ve saved them all, could’ve been there sooner. If I hadn’t let my dad go outside alone during the beginning of the break out. If I hadn’t taken so long to get to Guille, Eva, and Lucia. If I hadn’t left Juliana in search of alcohol. They’d all still be alive. I wouldn’t be trapped in this compound of drug lords and glorified criminals who think they have a right to use our bodies for their pleasure.

I would be with Juliana and Marvel, curled in each other’s arms, whispering secrets in the small space between our faces.

A part of me keeps waiting for them to come back. Keeps waiting for Juliana and Marvel to crash through those gates and save me. But another part of me knows that she’s dead, too. That they’re all gone; permanently. 

Both parts still love them.

Both parts want to be dead, too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out the moodboard I made for this story/chapter here! [Something Wild Moodboard](https://zags96.tumblr.com/post/184084496963/something-wild-by-zags96-part-v-chapter)
> 
> And! The masterlist for all moodboards for this book! [ Something Wild Moodboard Masterlist ](https://zags96.tumblr.com/post/184280588738/something-wild-by-zags96-summary-five-years)
> 
> Also, feel free to follow my [tumblr](https://zags96.tumblr.com/)
> 
>  
> 
> Also, also, this is a tumblr I made with a friend, we post juliantina moodboards! [juliantina-moodboards tumblr](https://juliantina-moodboards.tumblr.com)
> 
>    
> Overal fic [Something Wild Moodboard](https://juliantina-clexa.tumblr.com/post/183540828673/something-wild-by-zags96-we-do-what-we-have-to)


	18. Part V: Chapter Eighteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: mentions of rape, abuse, murder, and other violent acts toward people. Take precautions.

**JULIANA'S POV**

“Marvel,” I call as I stand up from the ground, brushing the dirt off my clothes. My shoulder aches where I hit it on the cement; I know full well that I’m going to get a massive bruise there. But that’s the least of my worries. Marvel is pawing hastily at the ground, looking back worriedly at me. “Let’s go, girl.” She whimpers but follows as I run back to the house we came from. We weave through the spaces between houses, jumping over the rotting fences, dodging through over grown foliage. It doesn’t take long to get back to the house and barricade the door behind us. Marvel whimpers again as she paces by the door. She taps Val’s jacket with her nose and turns back to me.

“I know, I miss her, too,” I say kneeling down in front of Marvel. She walks over to me and licks my face. I run my hand soothingly over her head and down her back; repeating the motion as I speak. “But we need to find her, do you think you can track her? Oh, God, look at me, I’m talking to a dog. Do you even understand me, Marvel?”

She woofs softly.

“I guess we’ll find out,” I shrug standing back up and start to pack all of our stuff back up. There isn’t much time until night falls, and I don’t want to lose their trail. It’s probably the best bet to head back the way we came the other day, where Val and I had first seen Alacran and his men. I don’t want to know how they found us out here, but I can only hope that they’re back that way. If anything, maybe Marvel can pick up on something to lead us.

Upstairs, I gather up the clothes and food that’s scattered around the bedroom we had taken up residence in. I stuff everything into my nearly empty backpack and trot back down the stairs to find Marvel laying on the floor. She has her head resting on Val’s jacket on the floor, her eyes turned down sadly at the corners. I drop my backpack on the floor and take a seat next to Marvel. My hand absentmindedly running over her fur as we both stare at the empty space where Val should be occupying. Marvel let’s out a sigh and turns her head to me.

“We’ll find her,” I say quietly pressing a kiss to her forehead. “We’ll get her back, I promise.” I force myself to stand and sling my backpack over my shoulders. I take Val’s jacket and wrap it around my waist before turning back to Marvel. “Think you can follow her scent, Marv?”

She lets out a bark and I let her smell the jacket one more time before we’re off.

Outside, a rather large hoard of Rotters is approaching. Which is just the cherry on top of an already shitty day. Marvel’s pawing at the ground. In other circumstances where I wouldn’t have noticed this, I would be grateful. But, right now, seeing the obvious death parade stumbling chaotically toward us, it’s more of a nuisance than a help. I debate using my pistol; the Rotters already know I’m here, what’s the worst that could happen?

The image of a Goliath tossing me through a window flashes through my mind.

On second thought, no pistol. No unnecessary noise. I take out my machete and start running in the direction I remember the truck disappearing in. Marvel takes the lead, presumably following Val’s scent, but I honestly have no way to tell. So, I follow. As we run, I swing my blade at the approaching Rotters the best I can. I don’t have the time or patience to care if the kill is good or not. All I can think about is Valentina, her safety, and—God—her pain.

Each Rotter I take down brings no relief in the rage that is boiling up inside me. Alacran took my father. Probably my mother. And now he has Valentina. He has taken everything from me. And I want to watch him burn.

Rotter after Rotter comes bounding toward me, their moans drawing more from all corners of the neighborhoods. Marvel does her best to take out the ones ahead of us. I try to keep up with the onslaught of the undead, but I’ve grown used to fighting side by side with Val. She made destroying hoards look easy. Now, on my own, I’m off kilter. I’m not the well-oiled killing machine I was before I met Valentina. I’m sloppy, unbalanced, and nearly overwhelmed by the sheer number of decaying fuckers that are coming toward me.

I’m trying to kill a Rotter in front of me when another one knocks into me sending me tumbling to the ground. My machete clatters out of my hand and out of my reach. “Shit, Marvel!” I call, but I don’t know if she can hear me over the cacophony of moans. A Rotter lands on top of me, and I get a sense of déjà vu over this predicament. My hands reach toward the Rotter trying to keep their hands and teeth at bay. Bits of rotten flesh fall on my face, blood dripping from their mouth, decaying skin slipping beneath my hands as I push their face back. “Seriously, I do not want to be your afternoon snack!”

A bark signals Marvel’s arrival. I see her teeth tear into the neck of the Rotter before the head rolls to the side. Marvel takes off again, blood coating her fur, Rotter flesh hanging from her mouth. She barrels into several other Rotters as I reach for my machete. We’re getting overrun quickly. There’s no way we can fight off all these Rotters that the gun shot had brought this way.

“Marvel, let’s go!” I yell over the noise and she turns to me, a Rotter arm in her mouth. “Come, now!” I start running out of the neighborhood, only swinging my machete at the Rotters that get in my way. I hear Marvel catch up beside me, and she takes the lead once again. We don’t stop running until we’ve left the neighborhood far behind us. Until I’m positive that the number of Rotters near us is manageable without our imminent death. I don’t know how long I keep us running from the hoard. All I know is that we’re heading in the direction that Valentina was taken. And that’s all I need to keep going.

***

Night is falling, and so is my energy levels. I find a house near where we had first seen Alacran and his men. I send Marvel to scope out the house, she comes back with a foot in her mouth. I take that as an all clear from her. She drops the foot next to me and wags her tail happily.

Yup, all clear.

I trudge into the house with her following behind me. The house is in better condition than most we’ve seen. Which is shocking considering that Alacran and his men have probably ransacked most of the places around here. Unless…well, unless they didn’t have to. Unless they attack innocent people trying to survive instead of finding their own way without violence. I cringe at the thought.

The inside of the house is a bit dusty, but other than that, not a single thing is out of place. Nothing is broken, torn, or turned over. It’s a small, one story house, but it’s untouched by the five-years-worth of death and decay that has encompassed the rest of the world. Marvel sniffs around the inside of the house, and I wonder for a second where she even found the Rotter that the foot came from.

I decide not to question it. She’s not pawing at the ground, she seems at ease, that’s good enough for me.

After placing my bag on the floor along with Val’s jacket, I wander around the house trying to get a feel for the layout. There’s a backdoor in the kitchen; the line of sight is straight from the front door, through the living room, into the kitchen. It’d take no more than a few quick steps to get across the house. Off the living room is two doors that lead to bedrooms, both beds are made, and clothes are still in the closet. It’s as if the people who lived here just disappeared…which is a disturbing thought on its own.

I close the bedroom doors and move into the kitchen where Marvel is resting. I open the pantry, to find most of the food gone. Guess I couldn’t get that lucky. There are still some cans of beans and fruits, and a bit of dog food that I guess the previous owners didn’t need. I pour a bit into a bowl I found in the cabinets and fill another bowl with water for her. She happily eats and drinks before tucking herself into Val’s jacket to go to sleep. I open a can of beans for myself and nab a fork before noticing another door on the opposite side of the kitchen. It’s not the door that leads outback. I move across the kitchen with my can of beans will in hand and open the door.

On the other side of the door is a garage, and I’m not really sure how I missed this when I was outside the house. It’s massive. There’s a truck that sits in the middle of it. I place my can of beans on the work bench beside the door and walk over to the truck. In the truck bed are several bags filled with various guns and ammo, a couple filled gas canisters, and the keys to the truck sit beside them all.

“Whoever left this all here probably meant to come back…” I say, my voice sounding strange to my own ears as it echoes of the walls. I reach into one of the bags and pull out an assault rifle and pistol with a silencer. “Who the—who the hell lived here?” I shake my head, but grab the guns and extra ammo before walking back into the house. I wake Marvel up to take Val’s jacket, putting it on. “Let’s find this camp of theirs.” Marvel woofs softly before shaking herself awake and straightening herself out. She sniffs the jacket one more time before we head back out into the world.

It doesn’t take long to find the spot where Val and I first saw Alacran’s men. Marvel’s silently leading us forward. It’s dark, but quiet. I was anticipating coming across at least a few Rotters on our trek to find the camp, but so far there have been none. Not that I’m complaining; a trip without being covered in blood and guts is a blessing in disguise. But it only means that Alacran and his men have killed the ones that come around.

And that means we’re getting close to the camp.

Close to Val.

Marvel tugs at my pant leg and nudges me toward the hill at the edge of the town. I follow her lead as we move up the hill. The sky is covered in clouds, thick enough to block out any light the moon may have tried to give us. It’s hard to see anything but Marvel in front of me. I’m trusting her completely to keep me safe and alert me to any danger that I can’t see.

I stop when Marvel does. She looks around a moment, sniffing the air, before looking below us. I follow her lead. At the bottom of the hill is a small field that disappears into a forest. The important part, the part that Marvel is staring at, is the make shift camp that sits in at the edge of the forest, jutting out into the field. There’s a haphazardly made tower that sits at the front of the compound beside the gate. There’s a light that sweeps across the field and the compound periodically. It’s not bright, but there’s enough light to make out several structures within the compound. I see people milling around the buildings, all within the fence, some in the tower, but none patrolling the perimeter.

 _Lucky me,_ I grin as I take in the positions of the people. A plan starts to formulate in my mind as I watch the guards switch shifts. Marvel and I spend the rest of the night watching, learning, and memorizing the shifts. I make a mental note of it all. There’s a brief moment, right before the sun comes up where all the guards are gathered in the far-left side of the compound. It’s ten minutes before a few split of and take up their posts, while some disappear to the right side of the compound.

But I don’t catch a glimpse of Valentina, or my mom, or even Chino.

“Come on, Marvel, let’s go get some rest,” I say about to stand up when a gust of wind comes through the field and up the hill. Marvel whimpers softly, refusing to move from her spot. “What is it?” I peer below again and watch as a guard tugs two people out of a building. A blonde stumbles out first, she stands still waiting for the guard without a fight. I gasp when I see Valentina get pulled out of the building. She stumbles and falls to the ground. The guard yanks her up forcefully and then turns to the blonde. Valentina takes this opportunity to try to run. But it’s no good.

I watch in horror as she’s tackled by another guard coming out of a different building. The guard pulls her up and backhands her. She falls again to the ground, but this time, instead of picking her up, the man drags her into another building and out of sight.

Marvel bares her teeth next to me, a growl falling from her mouth.

“We’re gonna fucking burn that place to the ground,” I say firmly. “Let’s go.”

I take one last look at the compound making a silent promise to Val that I will save her. I will get to her in time.

***

Back at the house, I spend the rest of the morning packing the truck and planning. I make sure the truck has enough gas, and that the guns are all filled with ammo. There’s plenty of weapons in the bed of the truck, and enough gasoline left over to follow through with my plan. All that was left was resting until it was time to go. I needed to wait until the right moment to make sure everything would go off without a hitch; to make sure I can get Val and those other women to safety.

I hear Marvel clatter back through the door to the backyard, something clatters to the ground and Marvel dives into the food bowl that I left in the kitchen. When I meander back into the house, I find her laying on the kitchen floor, lazily gnawing at the stick she brought in from outside. It’s funny to see her like this, like an actual dog, especially after watching her rips the heads of Rotters more times than I can count. I almost call out to Val; after all the time we’ve spent with Marvel thus far, I don’t think either of us have seen her act like a normal dog. But Val’s name dies on the tip of my tongue.

She’s not here. She’s not with me, because my stupid ass decided to fake my death instead of fight back. Maybe I could have taken all of them on if I had known what to anticipate when I showed up. Maybe if I was stealthier, I could have killed those bastards before they knew what was coming. But I didn’t. I let Val think I was dead. I let her watch another person she loved die.

And now she’s trapped in a camp with Alacran and Johny, and all those other men who are doing who-knows-what to her.

No. I know exactly what they are doing to her.

Alacran had taken my mom and I enough times to know exactly what kind of treatment they give their “guest.” I know what it’s like to be watched like I’m a piece of meat about to be consumed for their own personal pleasure. It may have been years ago, but I will never forget how it felt to be at their mercy—and there was never any mercy. They never relented, especially when I fought back. And Val would, too—she’d make it worse for herself if she did.

I collapse onto the couch in the living room, not willing to lay in a bed alone; the empty space would be too obvious. Too painful. I try to rest, try to get some semblance of sleep because I know I’m going to need it. But the images of Alacran pacing around me dances at the edges of my brain. His sleezy smile accompanied by malicious words hidden beneath promises of safety, but only if he got what he wanted in time.

“If Chino doesn’t show,” he said softly, gently, as if each word that left his lips weren’t like nails to my head, “I have so many things planned for you, sweetheart.” I can still feel his hand grabbing tightly at my face forcing me to look him in the eyes as he detailed every single thing that he wanted to do to me. Ending with a promise to set me on fire.

It’s my turn to make him scared; to leave him at my mercy.

And there will be _no mercy._ Just flames.

***

I don’t sleep long. Or well. I wake up several times reaching for Valentina. Screaming for Valentina. Choking on her name. Gasping for her. Only to find myself alone in a dark house, with Marvel licking my face trying to soothe me.

It’s pitch black out when I wake up one final time. Tears falling down my cheeks. The image of Alacran beating Valentina fading from my mind. I was watching as she was getting abused, tortured, taken advantage of. She was crying for me, begging for me to stop them, to save her. And I couldn’t move. Couldn’t get to her.

I refuse to let that nightmare become a reality.

It doesn’t take me long to pack up and get into the truck with Marvel. The engine rumbles quietly to life, and I thank whoever left this house for having all of these supplies around. I open the garage and take my time getting to the outskirts of the field where the compound exists. The spotlight on the top of the tower moves slowly, and it doesn’t cover much of the field further than a few paces from the fence. Based on my observations last night, there aren’t many guards at this time; most are asleep and so are the women. There wasn’t much activity until the sun started to come up.

“Ready, Marvel?” I ask turning to her; her tongue lolls out the side of her mouth. I take that as a yes. Reaching into my backpack beside me, I pull out a pen and paper, quickly jotting a note to Valentina.

_Val, follow Marvel. She will lead you to the safe house. Get the other women out with you. I’ll meet you at the house. All my love, Peaches._

I fold up the paper and tie it around Marvel’s collar before we clamber out of the truck. I grab the two canisters of gas, my machete, and the assault rifle from the bed of the truck. Everything is strapped to my body and out of my way as I carry the canisters toward the compound. Marvel follows behind me; both of us crouched low to the ground watching out for the spotlight. The pattern is simple. It rotates across the front of the compound, then through the middle, and back around again. It’s slow, sometimes it gets stuck, but it’s predictable.

At the far left of the compound, I cut a hole in the fence with my machete and pour some gasoline into the compound. I lead a trail of gas around the fence toward the front of the compound making sure to avoid the spotlight. Marvel keeps an even pace with me. We move back to the truck to get rid of one of the canisters and to pick up the matches. We move to the right side of the compound this time, where the building Val came out of is. I cut another hole in the fence.

I can tell Marvel wants to rush into the compound, that she can smell Valentina. But I hold her back. “Not yet, come.” Marvel looks at me hesitantly but obeys.

We rush to the left side of the compound where I poured most of the gasoline and I light a match at the end of the trail, dropping it to the ground. I watch as the first lights up easily, spreading hot and fast; racing toward the left side of the compound just as the sun starts to rise. I can hear deep voices mumbling, when suddenly the fire really catches and blazes brightly. Their voices rise higher, full of panic.

“Marvel, find Val,” I command. She takes off without a thought and I run to the truck. I turn the truck on and barrel toward the front gate. Panicked yelling comes from the tower, from the fire blazing to my left. I crash through the gate and into the tower.

It falls with a heavy crash into the field, breaking the fence it stood behind. The men in it don’t have a chance to leave before I’m out of the truck and firing bullets into their heads. I don’t stop to think about their lives before this, or that they may have families, or that they’re people, too.

Because, as Val once said, they aren’t people. They’re just a different kind of monster. They showed these women they kidnapped no mercy, why would I show them any?

I take the last canister of gas and walk into the compound pouring a trail to trap the men in the left side of the compound. I drop a match onto the ground and watch them panic from behind the wall of flames. They’re screaming. Begging. But I don’t care. I will watch them burn. I will watch them suffer as I’m sure they watched all those they have killed suffer. Like all those they have raped, beaten, and murdered in cold blood just because they thought they could.

No more.

I turn to my right hoping to catch a glimpse of Valentina and Marvel, but I see the door to the building is open. Marvel must’ve gotten them out.

The fire is consuming the compound.

It smells like burning flesh, and I think I may have gotten away from this without a scratch. Maybe Alacran and Johny are in the ring of fire too watching as their lives burn up in front of them.

But I thought too soon. I must have missed a few people during my night watch because they come stumbling out of their buildings, guns cocked and pointed at me. I don’t even hesitate this time. It may be four against one, but I have nothing else to lose. I didn’t see Chino’s face amongst those trapped in the fires. I hope maybe my mom is with Valentina and Marvel, but I have no way of knowing for sure.

So, I set my mind blank.

I aim the rifle at the men in front of me and fire carelessly, mercilessly, and watch in horrified glee as they fall to the ground and lay in their own blood. The screaming from the fires is dying; it’s all a sight and sounds I will never forget.

“Well, if it isn’t Chino’s little girl,” a voice chuckles as someone emerges from the smoke-filled air. The fire has spread to the field, to the trees behind the compound; engulfing everything in its path. Alacran appears in front of me, covered in soot and looking like the devil himself. “I’m surprised, I thought we had gotten rid of you.”

“And I thought I was rid of you, looks like we don’t always get what we want,” I sneer. I keep the gun aimed on him.

He laughs, “you’re just like your dad.”

“We are nothing alike.”

“You are much more alike than you think, Juliana,” he approaches me, pulling out a makeshift blade. It looks like an old street sign that he’s sharped into his own sword. He grins; it’s a challenge. “Put the gun down, let’s have that fair fight you wanted.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out the moodboard I made for this story/chapter here! [Something Wild Moodboard](https://zags96.tumblr.com/post/184130852388/something-wild-by-zags96-part-v-chapter-eighteen)
> 
> [Supplementary Edit ](https://zags96.tumblr.com/post/184184359048/and-i-thought-i-was-rid-of-you-looks-like-we)
> 
> And! The masterlist for all moodboards for this book! [ Something Wild Moodboard Masterlist ](https://zags96.tumblr.com/post/184280588738/something-wild-by-zags96-summary-five-years)
> 
> Also, feel free to follow my [tumblr](https://zags96.tumblr.com/)
> 
>  
> 
> Also, also, this is a tumblr I made with a friend, we post juliantina moodboards! [juliantina-moodboards tumblr](https://juliantina-moodboards.tumblr.com)
> 
>    
> Overal fic [Something Wild Moodboard](https://juliantina-clexa.tumblr.com/post/183540828673/something-wild-by-zags96-we-do-what-we-have-to)


	19. Part V: Chapter Nineteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so, MAJOR TRIGGER WARNINGS: torture, mentions of rape, blood, and other gore. Please take precautions when reading. Self-care is super important.

**Valentina’s POV**

“Juliana!” I yell, my voice piercing through the silence in the metal structure within Alacran’s compound. My body jolts upright, a cold sweat coats my skin. I’m panting, trying to bring myself back to reality, though it’s not much better than my nightmare. Juliana is still dead. And I’m still a slave to these monsters. Tears well up in the corner of my eyes as the image of Juliana’s dead body laying in the street fills my head again. As the image of my family’s dead bodies join hers. Five people dead because of me. Five people I loved more than anything gone. 

“Shh,” the brunette from the day before comes over to me. “It’ll get easier the longer you’re here.” 

“That’s not gonna make her feel better,” the blonde appears beside her. 

“It’s better than being unrealistic,” the brunette counters. 

“Neither of you are helping,” I say between breaths. They exchange a look before coming to sit beside me. I feel a hand on my back rubbing in circles; its too rough, too fast. Nothing like the hand I had grown used to. I find no comfort in the gesture. 

“Who is Juliana?” the blonde asks, her voice raspier than the other. 

“She is—was my girlfriend, I guess,” I shrug wiping the tears off my face with the back of my hand. It’s futile though, more keep spilling out. 

“Was? Did she—was she bitten?” The other asks. 

“No, Alacran shot her. Right in front of me,” a sob tumbles ungracefully from my lips as I try to contain it. “If I hadn’t gone off on my own—if she hadn’t been stubborn and cocky, maybe we would’ve been okay. Maybe she’d be alive right now.” 

“Or you’d both be dead,” the brunette says; her voice is much softer than the blonde’s. 

“I’d rather be dead,” I whisper. Neither say anything after that. We all just sit in silence, in the dark, wondering when the men would come and take one of us away. There are several other women in the building with us. They all seem to be around the same age as me; young, fit, and apparently Alacran and his men’s type. We don’t know each other’s names, and I’d much rather keep it that way. The less I know about these women, the less I connect with them, the less I have to lose if they die. 

Maybe Juliana was right, maybe having attachments in this new world wasn’t worth the trouble that they come with. Why get attached to people when, inevitably, you know you’re going to lose them? People leave. People die. All I have to rely on is myself. 

They come for us as the sun is rising, the light breaking through the cracks in the metal structure. I don’t recognize this man, but he reaches for the brunette who has been helping me only for her blonde friend to step in front of her. 

“You took her yesterday,” she protests, her eyes fiercely staring back at the man without fear. “Take me today.” He doesn’t argue, just yanks her out the door and turns to me. 

“New meat, let’s go.” I want to fight, but the way he’s looking at me leaves my skin crawling and I don’t react fast enough. His thick, calloused hands are wrapped around my bicep and pulling me out the door with him. The air outside is thick with morning dew, I can feel the moisture on my skin. The sun is bright and blinding as it rises over the hill near the compound. There aren’t many other guards around, it seems like they’re all on the other side of the compound. I spy a break in the fence near the building they keep us in. 

Maybe I can fit through that if I’m fast enough. I take the chance when the guard turns to get the blonde. I try to run. I’m almost convinced I could make it; I could be free. But a heavy body hits me from the side, knocking the wind out of me and sending me tumbling to the ground. 

“Where do you think you’re going, girly?” He growls in my ear. This time, they don’t bother to pick me up. No, the first guard watches as this guard grabs my arms and drags me across the compound. “He was going to go easy on you today, but after that little stunt? He may not be as forgiving.” 

*** 

I’m not sure how much more I can take. After the man dragged me into Alacran’s building, they tied me to a chair and left me sitting in the middle of the room just waiting. Watching the sun rise through the cracks of the wall. Listening to the sounds of the other women’s screams of pain echo through the compound. They leave me waiting and anticipating what they’ll be doing to me. 

I close my eyes, trying to draw up the image of my family, of Juliana, just to give myself some strength to endure this. I picture their smiles, their laughter, their presence. And for a moment, I can feel their love; I feel peace. But that disintegrates when the metal door clangs open revealing Alacran. 

“I’ve been told you’re giving the guards a hard time,” he grins wolfishly. He pulls out a knife and places it on the table in the corner of the room. Slowly, he crosses the room over to me, towering over my sitting frame. His hands grip tightly at the arms of the chair, his face leans closer to mine. 

“You have a dead thing on your face,” I sneer, butting my head harshly against his nose. He hisses in pain and steps back, holding onto his nose as blood drips down. 

“Fucking bitch,” he spits blood onto the dirt floor and picks up the knife from the table. “They were right, you’re a feisty one. Let’s see how long it takes to break you.” 

“Fuck you.” 

Alacran laughs mirthlessly, “that’s for later. This—” he brings the knife to my thigh, pressing down and sliding it across my pants, tearing the fabric and my skin. Blood rapidly spills down my leg; I bite my tongue to keep from screaming. “This is for now.” 

“You won’t break me,” I say through clenched teeth. “You can’t break what’s already broken.” 

“Then I’ll destroy what little hope you have left,” he brings the knife back to my leg, pulling the blade across my skin again. Pain blooms through my body, I wreath trying to escape from the blade. “I’m going to make you scream, and beg, and plead for your fucking pitiful life. I will leave you alive, hanging on by a thread, wishing that you were dead in a ditch where no one knows your fucking name. There is no one coming to save you, no one left to remember who you are. You think you’re broken now? Just wait, there will be nothing left of you to be broken when I’m done with you. You will be nothing.” 

Alacran is staring at me with no remorse, no sympathy. He genuinely looks excited to inflict pain on me; like he gets off on it. I don’t doubt that he does. A wicked smile grows across his face as he slowly, painstakingly, cuts a deep gash along my abdomen. I can’t keep the screams in anymore. It rips out of my throat, filling the air, joining the others in a chorus of pain. 

“Do you hear that?” He whispers in my ear as she walks around me. A melancholic symphony of screams, groans, and sobs float through the compound. He grabs a handful of my hair and tugs my head to the side, forcing me to look at him. “You’re nothing more than the screams that come out of that pretty little mouth of yours. No one is around to hear you; to help you. You’re at my mercy.” 

“You have no mercy,” I groan. The knife in his hand comes in front of my face, the sunlight streaming through the door glints off the metal. “Why don’t you just kill me? If I’m so troublesome, why don’t you just kill me right now?” 

The smirk that grows on his face is sickening. Alacran takes the side of the knife and drags it slowly over my cheek. “Where’s the fun in that?” 

“I’m a person, not some toy for you to fuck with!” I yell trying to pull myself away from his grasp. He doesn’t take kindly to that. I’m almost relieved when he releases his grasp on my hair, only to feel a pain far worse. The way his knuckles and ring on his hand crack across my face with such force split the skin under my eye open. My brain is rattling in my head, my eye is starting to swell close, blood is dripping down my face. I can taste the iron in my mouth. I’m sure I have blood spilling from my lips, coating my teeth as I glare up at Alacran and speak again. “I will never beg. I’d rather die than beg you for anything.” 

I shriek when his hand wraps around my throat tightly, slowly but surely cutting off my oxygen. My feet kick against the ground trying to find something to use to force myself away from his grasp. My hands are tied tightly behind my back and I can feel the burn from the rope as it digs into my wrists. 

“I’ll take that as a challenge.” Alacran tightens his hold. My throat aches under his touch. I can only see him through my good eye now, pain is radiating through my whole body. Like a knife is constantly cutting my skin open wider, and wider, and wider. There’s blood. I’m getting light headed. Everything feels fuzzy. Black dots appear in my vision. “Beg. Beg for you life bitch.” 

“Go to hell,” I gasp with my last breath as the blackness takes over and I fall into darkness. 

*** 

I wake up again still tied to the chair. 

Alacran waits in the corner, leaning against the wall, twirling his knife in his hand. 

“Ah, you’re awake,” he struts over to me. “How was your nap?” 

I say nothing, just glare. I flinch as a stinging sensation covers my face. Slowly, my brain registers the hell my body has gone through. Dried blood makes my clothes stick to my skin. The wounds still open, not totally healed. Every part of my being is screaming for peace, for rest, for death. For this all to just be over. I don’t want to live in this world where I’m beaten until I submit. There is no part of a world I want to be apart of if this is all I have to look forward to everyday. If all I get is a brief walk outside before I’m thrown into darkness or into hell. 

This is not a life worth living. 

“Got nothing to say, princess?” He chuckles. 

“Kill me,” I whisper meekly. 

“There’s no fun in that, darling, I’ve told you that already.” He drags the tip of the knife over my collarbone, just close enough to my neck that I thought maybe, just maybe, he would kill me. He would take mercy on me. 

I can’t help the tears that start to fall from my eyes, the sobs that wrack my body, the pleases that slips from my mouth between gasps for air. 

“Please, please, just fucking kill me already!” I scream. I don’t care that he seems delighted. That he seems pleased to finally have gotten what he wanted. I don’t care because all I want is to join my family and Juliana in death. To be rid of this horrid fucking world and pain. “I don’t want to be alive anymore, I don’t—I can’t. Please…I’m tired.” 

Alacran smiles, “was that so hard?” He walks away from me and calls for someone outside. “Take her back to the others.” 

The guard that comes in has to cut me free, but I don’t fight. There’s no fight left in me. Alacran destroyed everything that I had left. He was right; I am nothing. 

***

I vaguely remembering being dropped into the building with the other women. There were gasps. The two women who have been taking care of me rushed over immediately. Bucket and rag at the ready. 

“You fought back, didn’t you?” A raspy voice had said. 

“I did.” 

“The guards brought bandages before they brought you in.” I didn’t say anything more. I just laid there, numb, letting them bandage and clean me up before I fell asleep. I have no doubt that I would have slept for much longer except the sound of distraught yelling and the smell of smoke fill our tiny little building. The other women are looking around in a panic as we hear the guards rushing around outside. 

“What’s going on?” I ask trying to sit up but gasping in pain when I do. 

“There’s a fire,” one of them offers up. “Do we—do we leave?” Before any of us can respond there’s a scratching at the door. It’s persistent. No one moves. No one breathes. The scratching continues followed by a bark. A very familiar bark. 

“Marvel?” I call trying to get up, using all the strength I can muster to get myself up and over to the door. At the sound of my voice, the bark grows louder. I pull the door open and in rushes the familiar furry body of a certain rescued dog. “Marvel!” I say happily, ignoring the pain in my body as I kneel in front of her, receiving all the kisses and love she has to give me. 

“Is this your dog?” The brunette asks coming over to us. 

“Yeah, Juliana and I saved her a little while back, I thought she was gone for good,” I whisper petting her head. “How did you find me?” I wonder out loud when my hand brushes against something attached to her collar. Quickly, I grab the paper and unfold it, reading it to myself. “She—she’s alive?” 

Marvel barks softly. 

“Take us to the safe house, Marvel,” I say trying to stand up. The brunette grabs onto my arm and helps me all the way up, holding on to keep me steady. 

“We’re going to follow a dog?” She asks skeptically. The other women murmur in agreement. 

“She found me, didn’t see?” I say. “Trust me, she’s more than just a dog.” No one argues any further, there aren’t many other options. I’m giving them an out to somewhere safe, somewhere that isn’t here. We file out of the building one by one, following Marvel as she leads us to the hole in the fence that I noticed earlier, except now the hole is much bigger. Big enough for us to fit through without a problem. 

The smoke in the air is thick, we can barely see. 

I have my hand on Marvel’s back, the women form a line behind me holding each other’s hands as we navigate our way out of the compound. Marvel hops through the hole first, followed by me. I help the remaining women through. The pain in my body is excruciating. I can feel something warm and wet trickling down my abdomen and legs; I’m more than certain I ripped a cut open. 

I count each head that comes out of the hole. There were seven of us, I remember that much. The familiar faces of the blonde and brunette come out at the end of the line, smiling gratefully at me. 

“That’s all of us,” the blonde says with a sooty smile. 

“Alright, Wonder Dog, lead the way,” a black-haired woman says gesturing. Marvel doesn’t move. 

“Marvel, not wonder,” I correct. Marvel woofs and starts trotting across the field. We all follow her again without question. A pack of bloody and bruised women, marching through a field, led by a marvelous dog, with a fire behind us. If I hadn’t just endured hell, I would feel pretty badass right now. But all I feel is the throbbing behind my bruised eye, the soreness in my legs from the several cuts, and the ache in my chest wondering if Juliana will be at the house when we get there. 

I look back over my shoulder as we finish crossing the field, no longer worried about being spotted. The whole compound is swallowed up in flames, the structures buckling beneath their own weight. 

I hope Juliana got out in time. 

*** 

The house is empty when we arrive. Everyone collapses onto the couches or beds, ready for some quality rest, but I can’t. Despite my injuries, I’m ready to go back out and find Juls. I thought I lost her once, I can’t bear the idea that I may lose her for real and not even know. 

Juliana’s stuff is all over the place. Recently cleaned clothes hang over the chair in the kitchen. Marvel sticks to my side like glue as I walk through the house. I think she’s worried I’m going to disappear again. And I might, if only to go find Juls. 

I’m tempted to leave right now while no one is paying attention. But just as my hand reaches for the back door a voice stops me. 

“You won’t make it very far in your condition,” the raspy voice says. 

“What are you, a doctor?” I retort turning around to face the blonde woman. 

“No, but I was going to school to be one,” she pulls out a chair and gestures for me to sit. “My mom was a doctor before the outbreak…she didn’t make it out of the hospital alive. She taught me everything I know now.”

“I’m sorry for your loss,” I say, not moving to the chair. 

“We’ve all lost someone,” she says with a shrug. “Now sit, so when your girl comes home, you’re in better shape and won’t worry her as much.” The idea of Juliana seeing me in this condition is enough to get my ass in the seat. I’ve seen her hurt like this before, and I remember the worry I felt in my stomach everyday that she was unconscious. 

“Thank you,” I say as she kneels in front of me opening the first aid kit she must’ve found in the house. “What’s your name, by the way?”

She smiles, “Clarke, and the brunette is Lexa, my girlfriend. So, don’t get any ideas.” I laugh, and then wince at the pain radiating through my abdomen. 

“Valentina,” I share, “and don’t worry, I’m with Juliana.” We don’t speak anymore. Clarke works quietly and diligently, cleaning and closing all my wounds. There’s soft chatter coming from the living room from the other women that are with us. They’re fawning over Marvel right now, which I don’t blame them. Marvel gave up keeping an eye on me when she noticed that Clarke was not going to let me go anywhere. She found her way into the living room where she’s been getting belly-rubs and lots of love, which I’m happy for. I’ve missed her, worried about her safety since I thought Juliana died. But she’s safe, and loved, and Juliana has to be coming back soon. She has to be. I refuse to let myself think otherwise. 

“All set,” Clarke says after a while. She stands and looks at me carefully. “There aren’t any pain meds in this kit, so—” 

“Juliana keeps them in her backpack,” I say before she finishes. “She has to be coming back soon. I’ll be okay.” 

“Don’t do anything reckless while we wait, okay? I’m sure she’ll get here when she can.” Clarke places a gentle hand on my shoulder, giving me a soft smile, before disappearing into the living room to join the others. I stay in my seat, looking out the back window of the house. Plumes of smoke billow this way from the compound. The fire must’ve gotten bigger if the smoke is this thick this far away. 

Where are you, Juli? 

Suddenly, I hear Marvel bark softly. Her paw digs at the hardwood floor. 

“Someone’s coming,” I say grabbing a knife from the butcher block in the kitchen. I limp into the living room toward the door, the other women stand behind me, ready to fight. Marvel is at my side. My mind flashes to Alacran’s perverted grin, Johny’s shit-eating smirk, the calloused hands of all the men I’ve been passed around to. Instinctively, my hand tightens on the handle of the knife. Any soreness from earlier is gone, all that’s left is undeniable rage. 

The door knob turns, and the door swings open revealing a very bloody, soot covered, machete wielding—

“Oh, my god,” I say, the knife clatters to the floor. 

“Val…” Juliana says weakly as she stumbles into the house. Her clothes are torn, blood pooling and drying all over her body. She collapses into my arms immediately. I see Lexa rush over and close the door; and hear Clarke’s feet coming toward us with the first-aid kit. 

“Peaches,” I force a smile as I stare into those eyes that I thought I’d never see again. “Why are you always coming back to me half-dead?”

“Better than full-dead,” she jokes. Tears fall down my face as I smile at her sadly. 

“I thought you were.” 

“I know, I’m sorry, I can explain…” she whispers, but winces, her hand moving up to grab onto the gash on her stomach.

“Valentina, we need to take care of her wounds first,” Clarke says coming up behind me. I nod quickly. “Lex, can you help me get Juliana to a bed?” I watch uselessly as Lexa comes over and lifts Juliana up and carries her swiftly into the bedroom. I follow Clarke into the room and close the bedroom door behind us.

“Val,” Juls mumbles softly from the bed as Lexa sets her down. 

“I’m right here,” I say quickly. “I’m not going anywhere.” 

“I’m sorry—I’m so sorry,” she says quietly, her eyes meeting mine. Out of the corner of my eyes I see Lexa and Clarke working together to assess the damage done to Juliana. 

“Don’t, you did what you had to,” I say, holding her hand in mine. 

“I tried to get to you as fast as I could.” She winces as she sucks in a breath. 

“This is gonna hurt, Juliana,” Clarke says as she cleans a needle to start stitching. 

“Nothing new for me,” Juls says dryly. Lexa and Clarke get to work, moving around me as needed, and I keep Juliana awake and talking. 

“You saved us, peaches, you saved all of us,” I whisper dropping my forehead against hers. Our eyes latch onto each other’s. “I thought I lost you forever. I—I thought you were dead because of me, just like everyone else.”

“I’m very much alive.” She pauses. “Just in really bad shape right now.”

“You’re not the only one,” I whisper. She watches me carefully, taking in the full extent of my injuries. “Don’t apologize, this was my own fault.”

“No, it was that fuck head Alacran’s fault,” Juliana says, her jaw clenched tightly. She winces again, but it doesn’t deter her from what she wants to say. “And you don’t have to worry about him anymore, none of you do. I took care of him. All of them.” I can see the guilt, the torture, the pain reflected in her eyes.

“Juls…” I start to soothe her, tell her she did what she needed to so she could survive. So we all could survive. But I don’t get a chance. Not when she screams out in pain as Clarke pours a bottle of alcohol over the wounds, before she starts stitching them closed. The pain must be excruciating because she blacks out, and I’m left holding her limp hand. 

“She’s tough,” Clarke says as she works on the gash in Jul’s abdomen. “Most people would’ve passed out way sooner.” 

“We’ve been through our fair share of bullshit before this,” I explain, tucking a piece of Juliana’s hair behind her ear, gently caressing her cheek. “She’ll be okay, right?” 

“Juliana is in good hands, Valentina,” Lexa says coming over to my side. “Clarke is very skilled with medicine, trust her. Come on, let’s give her some room to work. She’ll call if she needs help.”

“But—” 

“I promise you, Juliana is going to be just fine,” Lexa says again, more firmly, before guiding me gently out of the room, leaving Clarke to her work, and me with my tortured thoughts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **ALSO ALSO: in lighter news; i made the last couple chapters into a mini crossover. I needed more characters, and since, well, i killed most of the AAM cast off...I improvised. Our dear Clexa will be joining Juliantina. And a couple other ships (if you check the tags) will be appearing as well.**
> 
> Check out the moodboard I made for this story/chapter here! [Something Wild Moodboard](https://zags96.tumblr.com/post/184205696918/something-wild-by-zags96-part-v-chapter-nineteen)
> 
> And! The masterlist for all moodboards for this book! [ Something Wild Moodboard Masterlist ](https://zags96.tumblr.com/post/184280588738/something-wild-by-zags96-summary-five-years)
> 
> Also, feel free to follow my [tumblr](https://zags96.tumblr.com/)
> 
>  
> 
> Also, also, this is a tumblr I made with a friend, we post juliantina moodboards! [juliantina-moodboards tumblr](https://juliantina-moodboards.tumblr.com)
> 
>    
> Overal fic [Something Wild Moodboard](https://juliantina-clexa.tumblr.com/post/183540828673/something-wild-by-zags96-we-do-what-we-have-to)


	20. Part V: Chapter Twenty

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THE PEOPLE ON TUMBLR HAVE SPOKEN; most of you want it in one part, so here is this massively long final chapter of Something Wild. Fuck, I had so much fun with this, thank you all for joining me and enjoying this as much as I have. I'm sorry it took me so long to finish, but real life gets in the way more than we would like, ya know?
> 
> Anyway, this chapter is heavy, but fluffy. And no one gets...seriously hurt? Or really hurt in any way that's serious. IDK read it, and let me know what you think! Thank you again !

I wake up to an unfamiliar blonde women cleaning the wound on my stomach. Air slips out of my mouth in the form of a hiss—pain blossoms where her hands dance across my abdomen. With the little strength I can muster, I smack her hand away my arm. 

“Don’t touch me—” I try to say harshly, but it comes out barely as a squeak. 

“Ah, you’re awake,” the woman smiles and stands up, before calling out the door of the bedroom. “Valentina!” I hear erratic footsteps rushing toward the room, getting louder as they approach, and then suddenly—

“Peaches!” Val sighs, her shoulders immediately relaxing, tension falling away from her body. “Damn it, Clarke, you scared the shit out of me.” Clarke just grins and starts to walk out of the room, as she passes Val, she hands her the medical supplies. 

“She’s a more difficult patient when she’s awake,” Clarke points out. “I think you can handle changing the bandages. There’s a lot to catch her up on.” Clarke squeezes Valentina’s shoulder before sliding out the door and closing it behind her. Val doesn’t move from her spot across the room, just staring at me. Her smiles falters as she takes in the bandages and bruises that cover my skin. 

“I look that bad, huh?” I say trying to make light of the situation, but the laugh that attempts to fall from my lips gets caught in my throat. Pain erupts through my abdomen as I start to cough. My head throbs with each cough that I force out of my body. Val is at my side hastily, her hand curling at the base of my neck, her face contorted in concern. 

“Take it easy, Juliana, you’re not in good shape,” she whispers delicately in the space between us. For the first time, I take in her appearance. Her hair is matted back, dried blood causing pieces to clump together. Her right eye is swollen, a purple bruise paints a target on her face. The lips I’d grown used to kissing are split, cuts litter her cheek bones, and I cast my eyes away from her. 

“I should’ve gotten to you sooner…” I can’t imagine what she went through, but if it were anything like I endured during the times I was with Alacran…then I have a faint idea. “I’m so sorry, Valentina.” 

“No, don’t do that to yourself, Juls,” Val soothes brushing her fingers softly across my cheeks. “It’s my fault I was taken, please don’t blame yourself for this.” 

“I should’ve been with you; I should’ve known you left!” I yell, guilt riddling holes in me like bullets. Despite the pain that radiates through me, I cry. The tears trail down my face in hot tracks; but there is no healing. There is no peace. There is pain, and guilt, and shame, and so much regret. Regret for sleeping while Val went out on her own. Regret for not finding her faster. Regret for killing all those people…just like my father. Just like Chino would’ve. Without a second thought. Without hesitation. Cold blooded. Calculated. And Alacran knew it, he watched as I did it. He challenged me and I took his bait. “You could’ve died.” 

“You could’ve, too.” She regards me softly. “Please don’t harbor this guilt on your own, Juliana. I went to scavenge on my own instead of waking you up, that was on me. Not you.” There’s a look on her face, one I can’t quite place. She won’t look me in the eyes, her gaze dancing around my face but never meeting mine. She worries her bottom lip between her teeth, her fingers twirling a piece of my hair. 

“Val,” I say cautiously, pieces falling into place. An obvious secret being kept. She finally looks me in the eyes. “Why didn’t you wake me?” 

“I—” She starts, stops, and starts again. A sigh tumbling from cracked lips. “I was looking for alcohol.”

“  
"What?” I breathe, eyes widening. A hiss of pain; my hand reaches to my head finding another bandage. 

“Let me change those for you,” Valentina rushes to say, standing hastily and starting to peel bandages off my body. 

“No, stop,” I demand. She freezes, my tone clearly holding a power over her. “Why were you looking for alcohol? Why was that so important that you had to risk your safety?” Her hand hovers over my abdomen, fingers twitching to do something. 

“Please, let me change the bandages,” her voice soft, pleading; her eyes refusing to look my way. 

“Only if you explain,” I relent resting my head back on the pillow. She nods slowly before she begins to clean and change the bandages on my body. Some cuts are deeper than others, some wounds are stitched closed the best they can be, and others are butterfly stitched shut. Val works quietly for a moment, her fingers gently cleaning the wounds, flinching each time I whimper at the aches that shoot through me. 

“When my dad died and everyone around me started to turn into Rotters, I turned to alcohol. It helped. It either numbed me out so I didn’t have to feel anything, or it made me happy enough to get through the day,” she starts to explain quietly. “It helped, in a way, it kept me going for a while. Guille, Eva, and Lucia didn’t know for a while, they didn’t notice. Not that I expected them too, there was so much going on already, why would they pick up on my drinking? They thought I was just being a risk taker, being reckless because dad had died at my hand…and they weren’t entirely wrong.”

“When you almost died…” I say realizing where this is going. She nods solemnly and takes a quick glance at me before going back to her previous task. 

“I was drunk, beyond drunk. I thought I could take on this big hoard on my own,” she sighs. “It was the middle of the night, everyone else was asleep and I was drinking outside of the building we were squatting in. Honestly, I can’t remember most of it. It’s all a blur of Rotters, blood, and Guille saving my ass. I was pinned in a corner by the Rotters when Guille found me, he told me he thought I was done for. I don’t remember it; I remember waking up the next day with a raging headache and all the alcohol in my backpack gone. The worry on their faces, the fear that they’d lose me too, it was enough to help; to know I wasn’t alone in this.” 

“But then you had to kill them.”

“But then I shot the Rotter versions of them to save you.” She reiterates putting the bandage on my arm and turns to me. “I don’t regret saving you, not at all. But I hate that I had to do that again. It was like the beginning of the outbreak all over again. And then you got hurt, and hurt again, and I was scared. I was scared I was going to lose you like I lost everyone else. Everything came rising at once and I was overwhelmed. Old habits die hard and all of that garbage.” Val comes back to the side of the bed and takes a seat in the chair that she was in earlier. She drops her head to her hands, her shoulder slowly, erratically, shaking. 

“It’s okay, Val,” I say eventually, my voice breaking through her sobs. 

“It’s not okay!” She suddenly bursts out. “Because I wanted to get drunk, I got kidnapped. I thought you died, Juliana! I thought I was the cause of another person’s death and I—it destroyed me.” Val looks up, tears trailing down her bruised cheeks. 

“That was my fault,” I add carefully. 

“It wouldn’t have happened if it weren’t for me.” 

“I think,” a voice called from the door frame, “both of you are to blame.” Val and I turn to the intruder, a short dark-haired woman leans against the doorframe with a smirk on her face. 

“Excuse me?” I ask, taken aback by this stranger. 

“Penelope,” a softer voices calls from the hallway before appearing next to her. She’s taller, pouty, and less angry looking than the other woman. 

“What? I’m simply helping them settle their dispute,” Penelope shrugs. “Princess over here wanted to get drunk because she had to kill her family. And she only had to do that because her not so charming Prince got in the way. Clearly, both are at fault.” 

“You’re insufferable,” the other woman rolls her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest. 

“Oh, please, you love me, JoJo.” Penelope grins widely at her, before letting out a puff of air. “Besides, you didn’t let me finish.”

“I’m not sure we want you to,” Valentina snaps, wiping her eyes on the back of her hand. 

“I wasn’t asking for permission, Princess,” Penelope says. “Look, you both may have some blame and guilt to carry for what led you two to this point, but you both saved our lives. None of us would be alive without you.” She turns to her friend and smiles softly. “See, Josie, I can play nice, too.” 

Josie rolls her eyes but smiles despite herself. 

“Pen has a point,” Josie says. “I know the circumstances that separated you from Valentina weren’t the best, Juliana. But you and Marvel saved us. And Valentina got us out alive. So, thank you.” 

Valentina turns and gazes at me softly. Her hand wraps around mine on the bed. 

“I just wish I got to you all sooner,” I say quietly. Josie and Penelope come further into the room, taking seats on the end of the bed. My eyes fall onto the new women in the room, they have old scars littered across their arms and face, but nothing new. “What they did to you all—” I shake my head; the images of burning men and bloody limbs fill my mind. 

“It was awful,” Josie says, “but they were probably going to kill us if you hadn’t come when you did.” 

“They get new toys and they throw the old ones Rotters.” Penelope looks to Valentina and back to me. “It’s shitty, but her arrival spared us a bit of torture.”

“You endured it longer than I had to,” Val whispers beside me, her voice hollow, far away. I squeeze her hand. 

“Doesn’t mean you deserved what they did to you,” Josie adds. “What they did to any of us.” They all fall silent. I watch as their faces darken, the hints of monsters not long forgotten cross their minds. Val’s hand has a tight grip on mine and I hate to imagine what is going through her head. What she had to endure that left her in such a broken and hopeless state. Alacran was always ruthless, always willing to go as far as he needed to get what he wanted. Based on the haunted looks Josie, Penelope, and Valentina have on their faces tell me he hadn’t changed much since our last encounter. 

“How long were you two there?” I ask before I can stop myself. “I’m sorry you don’t—” 

“Two months,” Penelope says. “Felt like longer.” 

“There were two other women there, I never knew their names,” Josie whispers as she fiddles with her hands in her lap. “When they brought Pen and I into the compound, they were taking them out. We never saw them again.” 

“They were going to kill you next,” I deduce, looking between Valentina and them. 

“Either us or Clarke and Lexa,” Josie peers over her shoulder out the door. “They came later the same day as us. We all learned quickly not to fight back, it only made it worse…” Penelope’s and Josie’s eyes wander over to Valentina. As if hearing her name, Clarke’s head pops into the room. 

“Sorry to interrupt,” she says slowly taking in the tension in the room. “Val, I should change your bandages.” Valentina quietly stands up, leaning down to place a kiss to my forehead before following Clarke out of the room without a word. Josie, Penelope, and I fall into a tense silence. 

From the look of Valentina, I know she fought back. Why wouldn’t she? Being forced into a situation she didn’t want; dealing with the men that she believed had killed me? If I was in her place, I would’ve fought back, too. At least for a little while. My brain skids to a halt at the hopeless look in Valentina’s eyes as we talked about her time there. It was vague, but I know it wasn’t easy for her to hear. I just—I wonder if she had given up. If she was willing to die…

“What happened to her?” I ask into the silence. My voice is shaking, my jaw clenched; pain erupts around my face, but I don’t care. My voice grows louder, “What did they do to her?” 

“What didn’t they would be a better question,” Penelope says blandly. Josie shoots her a look. 

“It’s better if you ask her yourself, Juliana,” Josie says carefully. “It’s—it’s not something any of us want to talk about or are even ready to talk about.” 

“I’ve had my own experiences being kidnapped by that ferret faced fucker.” 

“Then you know what happens,” Penelope states forcefully. “You know what happened, you just want to know exactly what she went through. But she may not be ready to talk about it; she definitely isn’t ready. We’ve heard her screams, watched her cry in agony, plead for death to take her to you. That’s not something she wants to relive, just like there’s a reason why you haven’t told us what happened after we left the compound. You don’t want to think about it, and neither does Valentina.” 

“Pen…”

“No, JoJo, I’m not apologizing. This world is full of shit and I’m not going to sugar coat it.” 

“Thank you,” I manage to say before the two before me start to fight. “I don’t need to hear bullshit about everything being happy and okay. Because we all know it isn’t.” Penelope nods and stands up. “I just want to help her.” 

“Then be there for her.” With that Penelope and Josie exit my room, closing the door behind them with a soft click. I’m left alone to finally feel the pain that pulses through my body. It’s sharp, like Alacran’s blade is still slicing through my skin aiming to kill. His angry cries, the wails of his men dying behind us, their pleas to be spared—it rings out in my head, echoing and reverberating through my skull.

A chorus of the dead lulls me into a fitful sleep, one I fear I won’t wake up from. 

*** 

 

I wake up to screaming. It’s not my own, though it wouldn’t shock me with the nightmares I’ve been having. Vivid reimaginations of the murders I committed. Of my dad smiling proudly as I do so. I keep waking up in cold sweats, a disgusted chill running down my back. 

The scream comes again, my mind still muddled from sleep. It takes me longer than I’d like to get myself up and look around the room. It’s dark, the sun long gone from the sky. My eyes adjust to darkness to find Valentina sitting up right in the chair, her arms clasped behind her, her legs firmly pressed to the ground. Whimpers fall from her lips and my heart breaks. If my nightmares are bad, I’m sure hers are too. But when did she come back? Why wasn’t she in bed with me? 

I force myself out of bed despite the ripping pain that spreads across my body. I’m positive I pulled a stitch, but I don’t care. All I care is that I reach Valentina. It takes all the strength I can muster to reach her, to kneel in front of her, and try to wake her as gently as I can. 

“Val,” I whisper, laying my hand lightly on her leg. Beneath her pants, I can feel the raised bumps of stitches. She cries out again. “Valentina, my love, it’s me. It’s Juliana. You’re safe, I promise you’re safe. Please, wake up. I’m right here.” 

“Please, please just fucking kill me already!” She yells, her voice raw, broken. 

“Valentina,” I say again, this time louder. “Valentina, please, listen to me. You’re safe. He’s dead, I promise you, he’s dead. He can’t hurt you anymore.” 

“I just want to be with her,” she whispers. “She’s dead and it’s my fault.” Her head falls, her chin hitting her chest, and I can hear her sobs fill the room. I have to swallow past the boulder growing in my throat, to ignore the hollow ache in my chest knowing I’m to blame for her pain. I stand in front of her, reaching forward, and wrap my arms around her shoulder, pulling her closer to me. 

“Shh, don’t cry, Valentina. I’m here, I’m right here,” I murmur into her ear. “I’m alive, baby, I’m right in front of you. Just open your eyes, my love. I’m here.” I repeat it again and again. I repeat it as she sobs into my chest. I repeat it as she curses Alacran and wishes him dead. I repeat it as she begs for the end of her life. I repeat it until her arms wrap around me, her head lifts slightly, and a sigh of relief comes. 

“You’re here.” She mutters finally, pulling herself back to stare up at me. 

“I’m here.” I smile softly and look over my shoulder at the bed. “Lay with me?” Val lets me bring her over to the bed where we collapse carefully into each other’s arms. Our legs tangle beneath the blankets, arms tucking gently around torsos, noses brushing against each other. We stay like that. My eyes gaze into her stormy ocean eyes. We don’t sleep. We can’t, not with the monsters from reality chasing us the moment our eyes shut. But that’s okay, because in Val’s arms, for the first time since we got separated…I am calm. My heart beat is slow, my body isn’t shaking, my brain isn’t racing a million miles a second. In her arms is a safe haven for me, and by the soft smile gracing her lips, I think she feels the same way. 

*** 

“Stop moving so much, Waverly!” Clarke shouts as she fastens a makeshift sling onto her arm. 

“It hurts!” Waverly pouts as Nicole holds her hand. Penelope snorts from across the kitchen where she’s leaning against the counter. 

“It wouldn’t hurt if you didn’t try to race Lexa,” she says with another laugh. 

“I was winning!” Waverly argues. 

“Until you tripped on that tree branch…” Clarke says with a grin, finishing off the sling. 

“You need to be careful, Waves,” Nicole kisses her cheek softly. “We need those hands of yours.” 

“Whoa, take it to the bedroom, will ya?” Penelope throws her hands up and walks out of the room. 

“She means my gun skills, Penelope!” Waverly yells after her. 

“Sure, sure!” Penelope waves her off. Everyone in the kitchen sighs. 

“How do you deal with her, Josie?” Nicole asks clearly exasperated. 

“She’s in love,” Clarke states obviously. 

“I am not,” Josie scoffs at the idea. “I hate her, I’m just…stuck with her.” She gets a sad, far off look on her face before she turns back to the rest of the group. 

“That’s how I felt with this one,” Val jokes, pointing at me. “But the way you look at her, I know that look. You’re so in love.” There are murmurs of agreement from Clarke, Lexa, Nicole, and Waverly. Josie pouts. 

“Hey, wait!” I interject indignantly. “I wasn’t that bad.”

“I saved your life and you still tried to leave me behind,” Val points out. 

“You were a stranger! For all I knew, you could’ve tried to kill me later on,” I counter with a huff. 

“But I didn’t.” 

“No, you kissed me instead,” I roll my eyes. Around us, the other women watch with amused grins on their faces. Waverly holds her injured arm close to her chest, trying to adjust the sling Clarke made her. Nicole smacks her hand lightly away. 

“If I remember correctly, you kissed me.” Val smirks cockily, tilting her head to side. 

“Oh, my god, are you two gonna take this to another room, or bang in front of us?” Waverly asks bluntly causing a blush to creep up my cheeks. 

“Seriously, you all tease me about Pen, but these two have it bad for each other,” Josie remarks. 

“That’s because you and Pen hate fuck each other with your eyes whenever you’re in the same room,” Lexa adds. Everyone begins to bicker back and forth, the noise rising quickly in the kitchen. Val’s eyes find mine amongst the chaos, gesturing out the back door with her head. We both move to leave the room; the others continue their verbal rally as we slip out the door with Marvel hot on our heels. 

Outside it’s quieter, though the air is getting colder. Signs of fall approaching faster than I think we may be prepared for. And with the rate we’re all healing and simultaneously getting injured again, I’m not sure we’re in the shape to scavenge or make a large move. At least, that’s assuming we’re all going to stick together anyway, but none of us have said otherwise. We’ve been together as a group for over a week now, each day getting to know each other better. Clarke hasn’t wanted Val or I to be moving too much considering our injuries. We’re finally on the mend, though all my injuries have accumulated to the point where I’m in near constant dull pain. But I can only keep moving. Or else be left for dead. 

The more we get to know each other, though, the more I realize that maybe traveling together isn’t the worst situation to end up in. Nicole was a cop before everything went to shit, and Waverly had learned how to shoot from her older sister, Wynonna, who—from my guesses—is not longer alive. Penelope and Josie went to some private school, though they won’t disclose full details, they seem to be more than prepared for the apocalypse than anything else. They often talk about Hope and Lizzie, but from their tones, I’ve been too afraid to ask who they are. Clarke and Lexa, I’m not really sure of their story. It seems like they have lost a lot, they each carry a weight on their shoulders, I can see it in their eyes, in the way they look out for the rest of us so readily. Leading seems natural to them, taking control of the situations, making the choices, Clarke and Lexa do it without a thought. And more often than not, they’re on the same page. 

Val and I are left to our own devices often. Clarke and Lexa usually send people out in groups to get food and supplies when we run low. They come back with their bags full, unscathed, and with stories of the ghost town that the area is. Alacran and his men must have cleared it pretty well, and I’m more than shocked that the fire and gun shots haven’t drawn more Rotters and other unsavory creatures to the area. 

But Val and I have been spending time sleeping, trying not to make our wounds worse. We haven’t had a chance to talk much, we’ve been exhausted. Between the nightmares we each keep having and the hours spent trying to calm each other. The words we exchange are soft reassurances, promises to be there when the other wakes up, confessions of worry, and love, and hope. We skirt around what happened at the compound; what I did…what happened to her. Whenever the topic starts to creep into our conversations, we change directions. I’m not ready to tell her what I had to do to ensure her safety; our safety. I’m not ready to admit that there may be more of my father’s rage and violence in me than I thought. I don’t want to scare her away. Valentina has gone through so much, has been on the receiving end of the violence that men like my father would cause. Would she really want to be with someone who is capable of being a monster, too?

I’m just as alone in this world now as she is. 

“What are you thinking about?” Val’s voice cuts through the noise in my head. We’ve ended up on a low rock wall that separates the back patio from the yard. The grass of the yard is over grown, it’s waist high, but scraggly and flattened by our stampeding feet earlier. We had gone outside for some air and to play with Marvel. Waverly challenged Lexa to a race, which we all knew was a bad idea, and it ended with Waverly in a sling. 

Marvel wanders through the grass, sniffing around, before coming back to us and handing Val a stick. She throws it softly into the brush, her face flinches in pain, but quickly returns to a calm state as if nothing happened. 

“We shouldn’t talk about it,” I say after watching Marvel grab the stick and trot back to us. She drops it excitedly at Val’s feet and watches raptly as Val throws it again. 

“Maybe we finally should,” Val says, it’s barely a whisper above audible, her eyes on the side of my face. I nod slowly, but we both remain silent despite agreeing. Instead, we continue to watch Marvel run around without a care. It seems like there haven’t been enough moments like this; like we were a small family. Like this world was normal, and we were two average, young women, who happened to fall in love, rescue a dog, and live happily ever after. 

But who knows if we’ll get a happily ever after? Who knows if we’ll be in love after all our truths come out? I hope we will, but in this chaotic, ruthless world we live in now, it was all up in the air. There was no telling what tomorrow will bring, let alone the next five minutes. 

If the world goes even further to shit in the next five minutes, I want to spend it telling the truth. I want to spend it giving the women I love all the answers she deserves. Fuck it. I almost lost her once, I’m not going to lose her without being honest. And maybe, together, we can find a way to heal. 

“My father was a hitman,” I say as Valentina throw the stick for Marvel again. Even though she already knows this information, she doesn’t interrupt. I forge on. “He killed people as if it was nothing. He took lives, destroyed families, mine included. He never hesitated; Alacran loved that about him.” 

Valentina visibly flinches at the sound of his name. 

“I never wanted to be like him, never wanted to take away a life without a second thought,” I whisper, the echoes of the dying men fill my ears. “When I thought I lost you…I didn’t care whose life I had to take to make sure you were safe. All those promises I made to myself were broken. I—I didn’t hesitate to kill any of them.” 

“They weren’t good people, Juliana.”

I shake my head, tears pooling in my eyes. “They were still people, Val! People that I set on fire and listen to them scream for their lives. I stood by and listened as they died, screaming, moaning, begging me to save them. Every night, I dream of their faces as they burn; the smell of burnt flesh; the feel of their blood on my hands. I see the look in their eyes, the fear, as I put a gun in their face and pulled the trigger…I can never erase that from my memory.

“God, and I let him get to me. I let him get under my skin,” I growl, slamming my fists against my thighs. “I had a gun, Valentina. I had a gun, and my machete, and I let that bastard taunt me. He baited me into a fight. I should’ve just shot him in the face like he fucking deserved.”

“Why didn’t you?” She asks her eyes trained on me, though I can see Marvel begging her for attention out of the corner of my eyes. I take a deep breath, my heart thrums wickedly against my rib cage. I ball my hands into fists, trying to ignore the shaking that captures my whole body. 

“He kept telling me how much like my dad I am,” I say through gritted teeth. The anger and disgust I felt that night courses through my veins again. The rough, tattered grip of my machete from that night comes to mind; the rage that filled me the moment Alacran said those words made me tighten my grip. His eyes were dark, taunting, daring me to prove him right. And I would have proved him wrong had I walked away. But I didn’t. 

“You’re nothing like your dad.” A bitter laugh slips from my mouth. 

“I wish I could agree with that,” I respond. Marvel trots up to me this time, dropping the stick in front of me, licking my hand as I reach out for it. I pet her head before tossing the stick further out for her. “If I was nothing like him, I wouldn’t have killed those men so easily. Taught them a lesson, maybe. But, kill them? And fucking Alacran taunting me, looking at me like he knows I’m going to prove him right. God, and I fell right into his trap! I should have walked away, should have done something other than let him get under my skin…”

“Is that why you came back half-dead?” Valentina asks cautiously, though I can tell she knows the answer. I nod solemnly. 

“I let him provoke me,” I shake my head shamefully. “He wanted a fair fucking fight. Can you believe that? After shooting me when I asked for a fair fight, he has the audacity to do the same thing?”

“But you agreed,” Val points out realizing where this is going. 

“I did. I let me pride and my fear and my anger get in the way,” I confess. “I could still hear those men dying behind me in that ring of fire I made. I threw the gun aside and we just...we fought. Blade to blade for what felt like eternity. Every time he cut me, every time he knocked me down, I had to get back up, had to keep fighting because I knew you were waiting for me. There was no way I was going to die without seeing you one more time. I really didn’t think I was going to make it back to you, Val. And all I kept thinking was that I was going to die, and you’d never see me again, you’d never know where I was, and that all those lives I took were for nothing.” 

I didn’t realize Valentina had moved closer to me, her hand resting on my leg as I stare off into the distance, watching the sun set behind the trees. She’s quiet for a moment, rubbing a circular pattern on my leg. The sensation is calming, my heart beat slows, my fists unclench. Tears spill freely down my face as I finally look at her. 

“I’m a monster, Valentina,” I mutter weakly. “I’m no better than the men who took you, who hurt you. You deserve so much more than this, so much better than me.”

“Juliana, love, listen to me, okay?” Val says softly, wiping the tears off my face. “You are nothing like your dad. Would he feel guilt over killing these men? Would have fought as hard as you did to make it back to your mom like you fought to make it to me? You let a near stranger into your life, you fought to find me, fought to save me, and fought to make it back to me. Those men were monsters, they would never stop hunting us and other women as long as they were alive. You saved so many of all of us, and not a single one of us look at you and see a monster, a kidnapper, a murderer. We see this incredibly strong, resilient, badass women who risked her own life to save us all. 

“You, Juliana Valdes, are not a monster by any stretch of the imagination. And you do not get to decide what I deserve. I do, and I deserve you and your love,” Valentina says vehemently, cupping my face in her hands. “I love you, and I promise you, you are nothing like those men. When you look at me, my skin doesn’t crawl, I don’t want to run away. I want to run to you, everything around us goes quiet. You calm me, you saved me. A monster wouldn’t make me feel like that. An angel, maybe. But certainly not a monster.” 

“I love you,” I whisper, “I’m sorry I let you think you lost me. I’m sorry for what you went through…whatever that may be.” She shakes her head. 

“It’s not your fault,” she says, leaning back and releasing my face. “I mean it when I say you’re nothing like those men; like Alacran. You have never taken more than I am willing to offer. All they did was take, and take, and take.” 

“Can I—Can I ask what happened?” Val tears her gaze away from mine, her eyes glossing over as she stares off into the distance. Marvel trots around happily, playing with the stick by herself since we stopped paying attention to her. She doesn’t seem to mind as she tosses it away from her with her mouth and then chases after it. Val is still quiet, and I’m about to let it go, let her have a moment of peace without having to talk about it. But then she speaks, her voice cracking on every syllable as she recounts each thing that happened. My blood boils at the thought of those greasy creatures laying a hand on Valentina in a way that they had no right to. Their hands, their bodies violating her without consent, without a care; with pure greed. They stole from her the last ounce of innocence she could have had left in this undead wasteland we have to call our reality. Those men took and took without a second thought as to the damage they were causing, all they cared for was their own pleasure, their own needs. But what about Valentina? What about this beautiful, intelligent, warrior that is far too young to have lost so much? She didn’t deserve that. She didn’t deserve any of it. 

Anger rushes through my body as she continues to speak. I’m tempted to go back to the ashes of the compound and kill those men all over again. How dare they? What right did they have? But as I look over at Valentina again, the anger falls away. She’s crying silently as she talks about this. Her voice is trembling, her lips quaking as she recounts the details. Each touch. Each cut. Each punch. She remembers it all so vividly, and this is the first time she’s talking about it. I’m anger at those men, at the sheer arrogance to believe they had a right bodies they were not theirs. But they are dead, and the women are out of harms way. All of them carrying scars on their skins and their minds. I killed their monsters’ bodies, but their presence still lurks in their minds. No anger I feel will do any good for Valentina, or any of them really. 

“I have nightmares of it every night,” Val murmurs as she wrings her hands in her lap. “I can’t escape it; even though you say their dead…that you killed Alacran, I can’t picture it. I just see him standing in front of me with that knife and that stupid fucking smirk like he’s won.”

I scoot closer to her, taking her hands in mine. “He’s dead, Val. I watched the life drain from his eyes myself.” 

“I know, and I believe you, it’s just…” she sighs. “The memory of him torturing me is so vivid, so real, I can’t get my brain to comprehend that he’s dead. All I keep thinking when I close my eyes is that I’m going to wake up tied to that chair again, and I’ll have to endure all that pain again.”

“Baby, look at me,” I say and wait for her to turn to me. “He is never going to hurt you again. I failed you once, but I will do everything in my power to keep you safe for as long as you’ll have me.” She leans her forehead against mine, her eyes falling closed. Her breath falls out in uneven puffs as more tears fall from her eyes. 

“Don’t hate me,” she whispers. “I want to believe you, Peaches. But it’s hard to believe what I can’t see.” Though her words hurt, I know she doesn’t mean them maliciously. I understand, because it wasn’t easy for me to believe either until Alacran hadn’t moved for several minutes. 

“Do you trust me?” I ask, an idea suddenly blooming in my mind. 

“Yes,” she answers without hesitation. 

“We need to talk to Clarke and Lexa.” 

*** 

It took some convincing. When Clarke is in Dr. Griffin mode it’s almost impossible for her to look past our injuries. Val and I had to promise that her and Lexa could come with us in case anything happened, which I wasn’t going to argue with. Neither Val or I are in any condition to fight anything or anyone for that matter. 

This is how we end up walking across the giant field that the ashes of the compound sits in. Clarke and Lexa remain a few paces behind Valentina and I as we walk. Clarke has her gun in her hand, Lexa’s sword hangs at her side; they move slowly, deliberately. Eyes vigilantly watching for any signs of danger while Val and I move closer to the remains of the compound. 

“We’re gonna see if we can scavenge some supplies from the buildings that aren’t super bad,” Clarke calls from behind us causing us to stop. “Yell if you need us, okay?” I nod and watch as they walk away toward the buildings that haven’t collapsed on themselves yet. The fire must have burned for days after we left because the forest behind it is nearly gone for miles. Smoke billows in the distance from embers likely to still be sizzling out in the distance. If it wasn’t for the massive rain storm we had the other day, I don’t think the fire would have stopped at all. 

Valentina is near the entrance of the compound, where the truck is crashed. Surprisingly it’s still in decent shape, save for some scorch marks. As we get closer, I find the door ajar, just like I had left it when I got out that night. Inside the truck, my backpack is on the floor where it had fallen after the impact of hitting the tower. A shiver travels down my spine as I recall everything that happened after that. Sounds of crashing, screaming, crackling of the fire behind me float through my ears. I shake my head to send them away and grab my backpack, sliding it on with a practiced ease. 

“Peaches?” Val says, her hand landing softly on my shoulder. “You okay?” 

“Yeah,” I force a smile, “just peachy.” She mimics my expression before letting me lead her into the compound. We’re both silent as our feet step over the threshold into the place that has been haunting us for the last week; that’ll probably haunt us forever. 

The floor of the compound is a giant dirt patch, the fire had spread mostly across the buildings and trees. To the left of the compound, where Clarke and Lexa’s voices are coming from, is a burnt mess. Most buildings have collapsed in on themselves, the fence having fallen away from the perimeter of the compound. Despite the many burnt building structures, posts, and seating, I can make out the forms of bodies lying scattered across the ground. They’re frozen, petrified in the charred skin that I caused. I tear my eyes away. 

“He’s really dead,” I hear Valentina say. Turning around, I find her kneeling by a decomposing body in the middle of the compound. A few feet from here sits the rifle I had in my hand and the makeshift sword Alacran had made himself. Flashes of the fight appear before my eyes; Alacran approaching me like a predator hunting it’s prey; his blade clashing against mine with such force I was sent backward; the pain of the first cut, and the second, and the tenth; how I got him on his knees begging me to kill him, to be just like my dad; his grin when he told me they were dead…that my parents have been dead longer than I’ve been looking for them. Tears prickle at the corners of my eyes. 

“Yeah,” I manage to get out, voice thick with tears. “He’s not going to hurt anyone ever again.” Valentina falls silent as she processes this. I don’t know what she’s thinking exactly. Maybe that her nightmare is over, or that she can rest a bit easier now, or maybe her mind is where mind is—at the horrible things I had to do to ensure everyone’s safety. And the one thing, the one thing that keeps coming to mind is the whole thing that started this all in the first place. The only reason I left the compound, let Valentina tag along with me, brought me this far north: looking for my mom. 

Val gets up from the ground and walks over to me, she regards me carefully. I don’t meet her gaze, instead looking back around the compound. Clarke and Lexa have appeared near us, rummaging through another building. They’re quieter now, not wanting to disturb us maybe. Or their also reliving the pain they experienced here. 

“Juli,” Val whispers, her fingers gently gripping my chin and making me look at her. “What’s going through your mind?” I almost don’t want to answer, but the way her blue eyes are softly roaming across my face, the care in her expression and the love in her eyes gets me to answer. 

“When you were here,” I whisper, “did you see or hear anything about Lupe and Chino? I know you don’t want to think about that time, but I just—I don’t know if he lied to me.” She thinks for a moment before speaking.

“No, they never said anything about them, and there was no Lupe with our group at all…” She says finally. “I’m sorry, Juliana. What did he say to you?”

“He—he said they’ve been dead for a while.”

“How long?” 

I shrug, “four years at the most.” 

“Oh,” she says, a sigh escapes her lips. She wraps her arms tightly around me. “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay, I knew it was going to be a long shot,” I mutter hugging her tightly back. 

“But that doesn’t make it hurt any less.” Val kisses the spot below my ear and whispers quiet reassurances to me as the feeling of loss overwhelms me. Everything that has happened has been because I was in search of my mom, or the only family I had left. In a way, it was really all my fault. 

“It really is my fault, Val,” I say. “Everyone is dead because of me.” She pulls away from our embrace, her hands holding my shoulder and forcing me to look her in the eyes. 

“No, it’s not. It’s no one’s fault but the shitty scientist that caused this outbreak to happen in the first fucking place,” she says seriously. “We have all lost people; we all have some kind of trauma and pain we’re carrying around. This world is stupid, and brutal, but it keeps spinning; it stops for no one, no loss, no pain. But don’t for a second think you are alone. You have me, you have the rest of the women with us now. You didn’t hurt us, Juliana, you are not responsible for the deaths of others. Alacran and his men did that, they took, and they took, and it was karmic retribution for them to get a taste of their own medicine. You saved us, don’t forget that, okay? You put your life on the line to keep us all safe, and that means more than anything you did here that night, do you here me?” Tears are falling quickly down my cheeks, but I nod nonetheless, despite the aching pain in my chest. 

“The dead are gone, Juliana,” Lexa’s voice says as she approached us. “The living are hungry.” Clarke shots her girlfriend a confused look before turning to me. 

“What Lexa is saying, is to not dwell on the lives we’ve lost, but the lives we’re living, the lives we’ve saved, and the lives we still have with us,” Clarke says. Lexa doesn’t agree or disagree; she instead plays with the knife she found in her hand. 

“Right,” Valentina says slowly before smiling back at me. “I know we’ve both been through a lot, but we’re stronger together. We’re meant to be together.” I don’t say anything else, I just let her, Clarke, and Lexa lead us back to the safe house. I want to believe them, that everything has happened to get us to this point, but I can’t help but think that if I had come sooner everything would be better. If I had never let Val join me, she would have made it to her family in time, she would never have been taken by Alacran. Maybe I would have reached Alacran long before he would have taken anyone at all. What if I could have saved so many more lives than this? It seems like everyone that comes into my life, everything I touch, turns sour and ends up hurt. The group would be better off without me. 

*** 

I try to leave late one night while everyone is asleep. It’s been a week since we visited the compound, a week since I decided maybe it was best for everyone if I wasn’t around to drag them into danger. Valentina is sleeping soundly next to me; she doesn’t feel the bed move as I get up and leave the room. I write her a note, apologizing and explaining that everyone is best without me. The note sits on the coffee table in the living room with her name messily scrawled across the top. Marvel shifts in the kitchen, a small whimper escapes her mouth as she dreams. 

I grab my backpack and exit out the front door. Only to come to a stop at the dark figure sitting on the decrepit front porch. 

“You’re going to leave in the middle of the night?” Penelope says into the dark, not turning around to look at me. 

“I was just—” I scramble to come up with an explanation. 

“Just going to abandon Valentina.” 

“I’m trying to protect her,” I argue, but Penelope scoffs at that. “You don’t get to judge me, Penelope.” She doesn’t say anything, just silently stares out into the front yard. My skin crawls and I shift my weight from foot to foot before dropping my bag and sitting beside her. We sit watching the dead of the night, the silence enveloping us leaving me to my own thoughts. The wind blowing shakes the trees around us, the grass dances in the breeze, and I wonder if there is anything else alive out here beside the two of us. 

“I left my group and Josie several months ago,” Penelope divulges. “I couldn’t handle being around them anymore, watching the way her twin sister, Lizzie, would suck the life and energy out of Josie. I know it doesn’t come to as a shock, but I love Josie, even though most think I’m incapable of that. Anyway, I couldn’t watch her put herself in more and more danger just to protect Lizzie who was only focused on protecting Hope, her girlfriend. So, I left, just like you’re trying to do. Except, Josie followed me. She left her sister and her best friend to find me.” She sighs running her fingers through her hair. 

“What happened?”

“She found me a few towns over, we fought about it, like we always do,” she continues to stare ahead. “I wanted her to do something for herself, to take control of her own life, instead of letting Lizzie dictate what she does. And Josie did, she came to look for me despite Lizzie not wanting her to. But when we got back to our camp Lizzie and Hope were gone, but their stuff was still there. We looked everywhere, but they were gone, we didn’t have a choice but to assume they were dead.”

“Why are you telling me this, Penelope?” I ask softly. 

“Because, I left thinking I was protecting Josie, that I was helping her, but I made everything worse. We lost our friends, our family, and she blamed me.” Her voice is thick, and I know she’s fighting back tears trying to maintain the tough exterior she has shown to the rest of us. We’re a lot more alike than I thought; I know what it’s like to put on a façade just to survive, just to keep going. “I remember what she said to me right before we were taken by Alacran’s men. She was cold when she spoke to me that day, she told me it was my fault her sister was gone, that Hope was gone. She said she took my advice and went for what she wanted: me. We know how that ended…

“What I’m trying to say, Juliana,” Penelope says finally turning towards me. “We may think we’re protecting them, helping them, but we’re taking away their choice, their agency. It’s not up to us to decide what is best for Josie or Valentina, or anyone us. You can leave if you want, if you think that it’s best for you, but I can tell you, that it’s not. It’s lonely, and hard, and you will regret it. You said it yourself, you’ve both lost so much, do you really think either of you can handle losing each other too?” Penelope stands up then, dusting herself off before giving me her signature smirk. “Now, I have a beautiful woman waiting in bed for me, and you do, too. I know what choice I’m going to make, what about you?” 

With that, Penelope opens the front door and heads inside. And I’m left alone watching the sky get darker, the stars grow brighter, and my thoughts grow more sure. 

Inside, I rip up the letter and toss it in the trash. Marvel wakes up to the sound and sleepily follows me into mine and Val’s room. As I crawl back into my spot, Vale wakes up. 

“Hey, where were you?” She murmurs, curling into my side as Marvel settles at the foot of the bed. 

“Just went to get some air, couldn’t sleep,” I say kissing her forehead. 

“Mm, I missed you,” she sighs into my embrace, her breathing slowly evens out and I know she’s asleep again. With her breath tickling my neck, and Marvel’s paws kicking my foot, I start to fall asleep myself knowing I made the right choice. 

*** 

Nicole, Waverly, and Clarke had gone back to the compound to see if they could get the truck working. The rest of us had no idea until a beaten up, burnt in some places, totally a death trap of a truck rolled up the driveway the other day. Nicole hopped out from behind the steering wheel with a satisfied grin as Lexa, Penelope, Josie, Val, and I looked on in confusion.

Clarke had felt like we were staying in one place far too long and that we’re running low on supplies. She isn’t wrong, the shops in town have run out of decent food and we can’t keep eating smaller and smaller portions just to stay in a place we deem is safe. At this point, who knows if it’s even safe anymore? It’s been quiet for too long, and that isn’t always a good thing. The three of them pulled it out of the ruins of the tower, got it start up, and brought it to us. 

We spent this morning packing up the truck with our stuff. It didn’t take long, there wasn’t much any of us had. Bits of clothes and food we found in the house, our weapons, and Marvel’s stuff as well. 

Nicole, Waverly, and Marvel took the cab of the truck while the six of us climbed into the truck bed. It was bumpy and more than uncomfortable, but it was better than having to walk every where again. 

Penelope hasn’t said anything to me about our conversation, but when she saw me the next morning there was a ghost of a smile on her lips. Josie and her seem to be getting along better lately, too. They still bicker and tease each other endlessly, but there are more lingering touches, more gazes shared across the room. We’re all waiting for them to finally get together, to realize that in this world there is no use in waiting to be with the one you love. All of us have lost someone, all of us have almost lost each other, but we’re okay for now. In the back in this rickety truck, with Val’s head resting on my shoulder, her hand gripped in mine; with Clarke and Lexa whispering in hushed tones and soft smiles across from us; with Josie and Penelope playing some secret game they won’t share with the rest of us; with the empty road stretched before us—everything feels like it’s going to be okay. 

*** 

We pull up to an abandoned radio station in the middle of nowhere just as the moon had risen into the sky. Marvel jumps out the window before Nicole can put the car in park and races toward the building. I’m out of the truck bed not too far behind her, ready to help her if needed. But she comes trotting back before I even reach the building with blood on her muzzle. 

“Seriously, this dog is a superhero,” Waverly coos as she pets Marvel’s fur. 

“What about me?” Nicole jokes with a pout. 

“Yes, you’re a superhero too, Officer Haught,” Waverly rolls her eyes and kissing her girlfriend before going back to giving Marvel attention. 

“That dog gets more love from my girlfriend than I do,” she huffs and carries their stuff inside. 

“I know the feeling,” I tease walking behind her having lost Val to Marvel already, too. Josie and Penelope come in behind us, and eventually so do our girlfriend’s and Marvel. We settle into the small station, there isn’t much a lot in the room, not a lot of space either, but it’s good enough for the night. The eight of us, and Marvel, sit around in a circle, passing cans of beans and vegetables around sharing stories of our past lives. Of happy moments with each other. Of our best and most skilled kill. We laugh, and joke, and bond over our mutual pain. Surviving in this world is shit, it’s not easy, and it’s not always worth it. But sitting here, surrounded by people who have felt and experienced similar things as I have, it makes it easier. It makes life worth living. 

I find myself outside the station as the stars are disappearing and the sun is coming up. The edge of the truck bed is dewy from the night, but I can’t find a bone in my body that cares. Footsteps approach and the truck shifts as she sits beside me. 

“It’s beautiful,” Valentina says softly as the sun begins it ascent into the sky. I nod in agreement. 

“I found something in the trash before we left the house,” she speaks again. “You were going to leave.”

“I was,” I admit, not bothering to lie to her. 

“I’m happy you didn’t,” Val places her hand palm up on my thigh. My hand nestles itself into hers. 

“Me too,” I whisper leaning my head on her shoulder. “I love you, Valentina.” 

“And I love you, Peaches,” she says turning to look at me with a grin. We kiss hastily, sweetly, but it conveys everything I know we are both feeling. And then we watching the sun rise and the stars fade away. We stay there long after the sun has risen, just basking in the warmth, in the silence, in the comfort. The world may have thrust us into a dark and twisted circumstance that none of us felt capable of handling. But here we are. Building our own family, our own group of survivors. Badass women who I’ve come to trust explicitly. Who know what the future of the apocalypse holds for us? Who knows what we may run into next? At the moment, wrapped up in Valentina, I don’t care what may come at us, because I have her. We have each other. 

A bark sounds from our feet.

And Marvel. How could I forget? 

Together, we will fight. Together, we will stay. And in this world so full of chaos, that is something wild to behold.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AGAIN THANK YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUU  
> I may continue you this story in another book, with a massive crossover feeling, but it's the end of my last semester of college, so there is a lot going on: projects, jobs, interviews, MOVING. Adulting sucks. Don't do it. 
> 
> Check out the moodboard I made for this story/chapter here! [Something Wild Moodboard](https://zags96.tumblr.com/post/184554252558/something-wild-by-zags96-together-we-will)
> 
> [Supplementary Moodbaord ](https://zags96.tumblr.com/post/184470647168/shh-dont-cry-valentina-im-here-im-right)
> 
> And! The masterlist for all moodboards for this book! [ Something Wild Moodboard Masterlist ](https://zags96.tumblr.com/post/184280588738/something-wild-by-zags96-summary-five-years)
> 
> Also, feel free to follow my [tumblr](https://zags96.tumblr.com/)
> 
>  
> 
> Also, also, this is a tumblr I made with a friend, we post juliantina moodboards! [juliantina-moodboards tumblr](https://juliantina-moodboards.tumblr.com)
> 
>    
> Overal fic [Something Wild Moodboard](https://juliantina-clexa.tumblr.com/post/183540828673/something-wild-by-zags96-we-do-what-we-have-to)


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